
Qass Y. 



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THE LIFE 



or 



SILAS WRIGHT, 



LATE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OP NEW YORK. 



WITH AN APPENDIX, 



CONTAINING A SELECTION FROM HIS SPEECHES IN THE SENATE 

OF THE UNITED STATES, AND HIS ADDRESS READ BEFORE 

THE NEW YORK STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



BY JOHN S. JENKINS, 

ICTKOR OP THE " HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIKS IN THE STATE Or NEW YORK-" 
" LIFB OF ANDREW JACKSON," ETC, ETC. 



" The Cato of the American Senate." 

Thomas H. Bbnto!». 




AUBURN, N. Y. : 

ALDEN & MARKKA M, PUBLISHERS* 

No. 67 GENESEE St. 

1847. 



, I 

V 






Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1847, by 

A L I) E N & M A R K H A I\I , 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for 
the Norlheru District of New York. 



THOMAS B. SMITH. STERKOTYFEB, 
S16 WILLIAU STREET, N. Y 



PREFACE 



The biography of Silas Wright can be but little 
more than the political history of the State and Nation 
for the last twenty-five years. His life was spent in 
the service of his country ; — not in a sphere requiring 
the exhibition of military capacity, or physical daring 
and fortitude, but in one demanding, at least, as high 
an order of talent, and far more of those nobler quali- 
ties, which so exalt and dignify the human character — 
moral courage and integrity. He had but just estab- 
lished himself in the practice of his profession, when 
he was elected to the New York Senate ; and from 
that time until within a few months previous to his 
death, he remained in public life. 

In preparing this volume, the author has not been 
free from diffidence, and distrust of his ability, to exe- 
cute the task without favor or prejudice. If, however, 
anything has been omitted which should have been 
said, or anything inserted that would have been more 
wisely left unsaid, no one can regret it more deeply 
than himself. It is an error of judgment on his part, 



iv PREFACE. 

and not of intention. Of one thing he is quite confi- 
dent, that not a single word has been written, with 
even the most distant hope of furthering the views or 
interests of any class, or faction, or party ; but the 
work has been prepared simply and solely to present a 
complete and impartial life of one of the ablest — by 
many regarded as the ablest — statesmen that New 
York has ever produced. 

To commend this book to those who are familiar 
with the character and extent of Mr. Wright's services 
to the State and to the Union, would not only be un- 
wise and indelicate in the author, but it would be 
justly considered as labor lost. To his political friends 
and — not his foes, for he had no personal enemies — to 
those who disagree with him in regard to questions of 
public policy, it cannot be unpleasant to speak well of 
the memory of so great and good a man. The sources 
of information to which the author has had access 
have been various, and he has freely made use of them. 
In this connection he takes pleasure in acknowledging 
his indebtedness to those friends of the deceased who 
have cheerfully responded to his numerous inquiries. 
He has spared no pains in his attempt to render the 
work as full and complete as possible ; the utmost care 
and accuracy have been preserved ; and he is con- 
scious of omitting nothing that it was in his power to 
supply. Errors and imperfections there may be ; yet 
he trusts that he can rely upon a generous public to 
overlook them. 



PREFACE. V 

The Appendix contains several of the speeches of 
Mr. Wright in the Senate of the United States : those 
relative to the pressure and the removal of the depos- 
its — to Mr. Clay's resolutions of Censure — and to the 
revision and modification of the Tariff law of 1842. 
Extracts from others of special importance are given 
in the body of the work, or his views upon the impor- 
tant questions agitated in the State and National Leg- 
islatures are stated as briefly and as distinctly as the 
size of the volume, and the ability of the author, would 
admit. The Address read before the New York State 
Agricultural Society has also been inserted, as well 
because of the importance of the subjects discussed, as 
for the reason, that it contains the last words of its 
lamented author to that large class of which he was an 
honored member — the Farmers of New York. 



(I 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER 1. 

1795. — Introductory Remarks — The Ingratitude of Republics — The Ob- 
jects of a True Ambition — The Statesman's Reward — The Ancestors 
of Silas Wright His Parents— His Birth and Early Life— Enters 
Middlebury College — His Political Sentiments manifested — Graduates 
— Pohtics of his Father — Battle of Plattsburg — Commences the Study 
of Law at Sandy Hill — Removes to Albany and enters the office of 
Roarer Skinner — Is Licensed as an Attorney — Travels for his Health 
— Anecdote — Locates at Canton — Traits of Character— His Popu- 
larity — Appointed Postmaster and Surrogate — Kindness as a Friend 
and Neighbor — His Public Spirit — Nomination as State Senator — 
Political Parties in the State of New York — The Electoral Law — 
Canvass for the Presidential Nomination — Movements of the Friends 
of Adams, Crawford, Jackson, Calhoun, and CLiy — Dewitt Clinton 
—Martin Van Buren— Election of Mr. Wright— 1823 Page 13 

CHAPTER II. 

1824. — State of Parties in the Legislature of 1821 — Message of Gov- 
ernor Yates — The Electoral Question brought forward in the Assem- 
bly — Mr. Flagg — Reference of the Bill to a Committee in the Senate 
— The Presidential Canvass at Washington — Congressional Caucus 
— Report in the New York Senate on the Electoral Bill — Discussion 
thereon — Various Propositions to Amend — Mr. Wright's Plan — His 
Speech — Postponement of the Bill — The Seventeen Senators — Nom- 
ination of Colonel Youno- — Removal of Dewitt CUnton from the office 
of Canal Commissioner — Course of Governor Yates in regard to the 
Electoral Question — Extra Session of the Legislature — Adjournment 
— The Clintonian and People's Convention — Election of Mr. Clinton 
as Governor — Choice of Presidential Electors — The Subject of an 
Electoral Law referred to the People. — Objects of those who origi- 
nated the Proposition — Mr. Wright's Course in relation thereto — Le- 
gislative Session of 1825 — Unsuccessful attempt to Nominate a Uni- 
ted States Senator — Defeat of Judge Spencer and the Causes thereof 
— Legislature of 182G — November Election — Mr. Wright chosen a 
Member of Congress. — 1826 27 



Vlll CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER III. 

1827. — Takes his Seat as a Member of Congress — Opposition to 3^Ir. 
Adams' Administration on the part of Mr. Van Buren and his Friends 
— The Tariff' Question — The Harrisburg Convention — Its Bearing on 
the Presidential Election — Movements of the Administration — Nomi- 
nation of General Jackson for the Presidency in the State of New 
York — Defeat of the Adams Men — The Twentieth Congress — Prom- 
inent Members — Election of Speaker — Mr. ^Vrij/ht Appointed a Mem- 
ber of the Committee on Manufactures — Feelincj in Favor of a Pro- 
tective Tariff — Action of the Committee — Resolutions of the New 
York Legislature— Report of the Committee — Debate in the House — 
Opposition to the Tariff Bill—its Defence by Mr. Wright — Amended 
and Passed— Speech of Mr. Wright in Reply to Mr. Barnard— Pro- 
Cf^edings on the Bill in the Senate — Its Final Passage — Objects of the 
Act of 1828 — Approved by Mr. Wright — Subsequent Change in his 
Opinions — His Declarations to that Effect in the Senate of the United 
States — Re-nomination and Election — InformaUty in the Returns — 
The Certificate delivered to his Opponent — Second Session of the 
Twentieth Congress — Attempt to Repeal the Tariff Act — Slavery in 
the District of Columbia — Mr. Wright Appointed Comptroller of the 
State of New York.— 1829 Pa^e 49 



'C 



CHAPTER IV. 

1839. — Mr. Wright leaves Washington, and enters upon the duties of 
the Office of Comptroller — His Skill and Ability as a Financier- 
Careful Regard for the Interests of the State — His Course as a Leg- 
islator — The Lateral Canals — Application to the Legislature — The 
Black River, Genesee Valley, and Chenango Canals — Views of Col- 
onel Young, Mr. Marcy, and the Canal Board — Sentiments of Mr. 
Wright — Opposition of his Party Friends— Justice to the Dead — Leg- 
islation in regard to the Chemung and Chenango Canals — Mr. Van 
Buren and Mr. Throop — Provisional Act to Construct the Chenango 
Canal — The Chemung and Crooked Lake Canals Authorized — Mr. 
Wright Claims his Seat in Congress — Unanimously awarded to him 
— Resignation — Message of Governor Throop — Report of Mr. Wright 
as Comptroller — Extract — Report of the Canal Commissioners in re- 
gard to the Chenango Canal— Mr. Granger — The Bill Defeated — 
General Election in l83fJ — Determination of the Chcnan(£o Interest 
to persevere in their efforts — Legislation in 1831 and 1832— Governor 
Throop Recommends a Direct Tax— Defeat of the Bill — Re-elected 
Comptroller -The State Election in November 1832— The Georgia 



CONTENTS. IX 

Missionaries — Letter of Messrs. Wright, Dix, and Flagg, to Gover- 
nor Lumpkin — Mr. Marcy Resigns his Seat in the Senate — Election 
of Mr. Wright as his Successor. — 1833 Page 68 

CHAPTER V. 

1833. — The Anxiety of Mr. Wright's friends for his Success— Enters 
the Senate — Talent in that Body — His Course and Character as a 
Senator early formed — Mental QuaHties — Condition of the Country 
— Nullification— The Force Bill— The Compromise Act — His Objec- 
tions to the Bill — Vote on its Passage — His Remarks — Mr. Clay's 
Land Bill— Distribution — The Bank of the United States — Removal 
of the Deposits — Derangement of the Currency and Pecuniary Dis- 
tress — Firmness of General Jackson— Marriacre of Mr. Wright — 
Meeting of Congress — Presentation of Petitions — Resolutions of the 
New York Legislature— Speech of Mr. Wright — Regarded as the 
Organ of the Administration— Motion of Mr. Webster for leave to 
Introduce a Bill to Re-charter the Bank — Speech of Mr. Wright on 
the Motion — Resolutions of Mr. Clay Censuring the President and 
Secretary of the Treasury — Debate thereon — Defence of the Exec- 
utive by Mr. Wright— Protest of the President— Difficulty in the Post 
Office Department— Vote in the House of Representatives on the 
Resolutions of Mr. Clay — Bill for the Improvement of the Wabash— 
Indemnity for French Spoliations prior to 1800— Invitation to a Pub- 
lic Dinner at Albany— 111 Health— Executive Patronage— Regula- 
tion of the Deposits— Appropriation Bills.— Anticipated Rupture with 
France— The Fortification Bill— Mr, Wright's Speech.— 1835 ... . 81 

CHAPTER VI. 

1835.— Nomination of Mr. Van Buren for the Presidency— Standing 
of Mr. Wright in the Senate— The Land Bill— Abolition of Slavery 
in the District of Columbia— The Surplus Revenue— Speculations — 
Remedies for the Financial Evils of the Country— Distribution— Op- 
position of Mr. Wright and others— The Specie Circular— Election 
of Mr. Van Buren— Act to Repeal— AboUtion Petitions— Acknowl- 
edgment of Texan Independence— Expunging Resolution— Re-elec- 
tion of Mr. Wright— Visit to Vermont— The Pressure— Differences 
of Opinion— Views of Mr. Wright— Extra Session— The Independent 
Treasury— United States Bank— Special Deposit System— The Con- 
servatives—Slavery in the District— North Eastern Boundary Ques- 
tion—The Bankrupt Bill of 1840— Renomination of Mr. Van Buren 
— His Administration — Expenses— Extra Session called by President 

1* 



% CONTENTS. 

Harrison — Repeal of the IndependentTreasury-Loan Bill — Bankrupt 
Law — Land Distribution Bill of Mr. Clay — Vetoes of the Bank Bills 
— Provisional TarifT Bill and "■•-lues of the President — Mr. Clay's 
Resolutions — Apportionment Bill — Tariff Law of 1842 — Bill to Re- 
fund the Fine Paid by General Jackson at New Orleans — Mr. 
Wright Re-elected for a Third Term.— 1843 Page 107 

CHAPTER VII. 

1843. — Bill Passed to Refund the Fine Imposed on General Jackson at 
New Orleans — Reduction of Postage — Notice to Terminate Joint 
Occupancy of Oregon — Tariff Bill of Mr. McDuffie — Able Speech of 
Mr. Wright — Mr. Tyler's Treaty of Annexation — Original Bounda- 
ries of Te.xas — Cession to Spain — Efforts to Recover it — Mr. Wright 
Declines the Office of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court — Let- 
ters of Mr. Van Buren and Mr. Clay on Annexation — Democratic 
National Convention — Nomination of Mr. Polk — Mr. Wright Nom- 
inated as the Candidate for Vice-President — Letter of Declension — 
Reasons for the Same — Objections to the Treaty of Annexation — 
— Opinions of Mr. Wright — Rejection of the Treaty — Subsequent 
Project of Annexation — Failure of the Tariff Bill in the House — Ad- 
journment of Congress — Divisions in the Democratic Party in New 
York — Legislation of the State in regard to Internal Improvements 
— Stop and Tax Law of 1842 — The People's Resolution — Different 
Factions and Interests — Attempt to bring Mr. Wright forward as a 
Candidate for Governor — His Refusal to be considered as such — The 
State Convention — Nomination of Mr. Wright — Address and Resolu- 
tions of the Convention — Letter of Acceptance — Letter on unfinished 
Canals— 1844 143 

CHAPTER VIII 

1844. — Views of Mr, Wright on the Financial Policy of the State well 
understood — Opposition to Increasing State Debt — Firmness in main- 
taining his Opinions — Senatorial Conventions — Question of calling a 
Convention to Revise the Constitution — Constitutional Amendments 
— November Election — Mr. V/right chosen Governor — Resio-nat'on as 
Senator and Appointment of his Successor — .\nti-Rent Disturbances 
— Efforts to Suppress — Mr. Wright enters on the Duties of his Office 
— Meeting of the Legislature — Speaker — Governor's Mesf^age — Rec- 
ommendations — Election of Senators — State OtTicers—President Polk's 
Cabinet — Discontent — Mr. Wright Declines the Office of Secretary 
of the Treasury — Defeat of the Constitutional Amendments— Con- 



CONTENTS. Xi 

vention Bill— Dissatisfaction— The Canal Bill— Veto— Adjournment 
—Insurrection in Delaware County— Executive Proclamation— Ad- 
vice to Landlords and Tenants— Trial of Persons Arrested— Commu- 
tation of Punishment— Fall Election— The People in Favor of a Con- 
vention—Legislature of 184G— Message— State Printer— War with 
Mexico — Caucus of Democratic Members of the Legislature — Con- 
tinued Dissensions— Appointments of the Governor— Tariff Act of 
I81i) — Constitutional Convention— lis Proceedings — Financial Article 
adopted — Democratic State Convention — Re-nomination of Governor 
Wright.— 184G Paac 172 



•■a^ 



CHAPTER IX. 

1S45. — Opposition to the Nev/ Constitution — Anti-Renters — Integrity 
and Independence of Governor Wright— The November Election — 
The Constitution Adopted— Causes of ?vlr. Wright's Defeat— His 
Opinions— Adverse Influences at Washington— The National Adminis- 
tration—The Wilmot Proviso— New York Resolutions— The Missouii 
Compromise — Acquisition of New Territory and Extension of Slavery 
— Position of Mr. Wright— Retires to Private Life — Contented Dis- 
position—His Name suggested for the Presidency — Letter — River and 
Harbor Bill— Veto of the President — The Chicago Convention — Let- 
ter of Mr. Wright— Popularity in the Northern States— Political Pros- 
pects — Mode of Life — Devotes his Time to his Farm— Agricultural 
Address— General Health — Sudden Illness— His Death— Letter of 
his Physician — Effect on the Public Mind — Testimonials of Respect 
— Meeting at Ogdensburgh— Tribute of Mr. Clay — The Merchants in 
New York — The Pilots— Proceedintrs of the State Le<nsl tture- Re- 
marks of Mr. Suencer- The State Fair— Feelin"- throughout the 
Union — Personal Appearance and Habits— Character as a Citizen 
and a Friend — Style of Oratory —Mental dualities— Career as a 
Statesman — His Memory. — I8i7. 220 

APPENDIX. 

Speech relative to the Pressure and the Removal of the Deposits. . 267 

Speech on Mr. Clay's Resolutions of Censure 280 

Speech on the Revision and Modification of the Tariff Law of 
1842 208 

Agricultural Address 360 



o 



LIFE OF SILAS WRIGHT. 



CHAPTER I. 

1795. — Introductory Remarks — The Ingratitude of Republics — The Ob- 
jects of a True Ambition — The Statesman's Reward — The Ancestors 
of Silas Wright — His Parents — His Birth and Early Life — Enters 
Middlebury College — His Political Sentiments manifested — Graduates 
— Pohtics of his Father — Battle of Plattsburg — Commences the Study 
of Law at Sandy Hill — Removes to Albany and enters the office of 
Roger Skinner — Is Licensed as an Attorney — Travels for his Health 
— Anecdote — Locates at Canton — Traits of Character — His Popu- 
larity — Appointed Postmaster and Surrogate — Kindness as a Friend 
and Neighbor — His Public Spirit — Nomination as State Senator — 
Political Parties in the State of New York — The Electoral Law — 
Canvass for the Presidential Nomination — Movements of the Friends 
of Adams, Crawford, Jackson, Calhoun, and Clay — Dewitt Clinton 
—Martin Van Buren— Election of Mr. Wright— 1823. 

The ingratitude of republics has furnished, from time 
immemorial, a fruitful theme of invective to the ene- 
mies of democratic institutions. But there was never 
uttered a more ungenerous sentiment — one having so 
little of fact upon which to rest for support. Because 
the demagogue who had cajoled and flattered, but to 
deceive and betray ; who had made his way to power 
but to further his own schemes of personal aggrandize- 
ment, may have been thrust, in a moment, and perhaps 
without one note of warning, from the position he had 
dishonored ; the example, which, viewed aright, should 
only be regarded as an admonition to be heeded and 



14 TRUE AMBITION 

observed, is held up to view as an act of political mar- 
tyrdom, demanding sympathy for the victim, and the 
severest condemnation of the perpetrators. Tempo- 
rary causes, indeed, may produce temporary forgetful- 
ness of those worthy of reward, and temporary aliena- 
tion and distrust towards the public servant who has 
labored faithfully and zealously in the discharge of his 
duty. In a republic, all start equal ; and so long as self- 
ishness exists in the hearts of men, the contest for su- 
periority will often beget feelings v/hich may, for the 
time, lead to unfortunate consequences, or produce un- 
favorable impressions. But he who, girt about by the 
panoply of honor and truth, " possesses himself in pa- 
tience," and presses steadily forward, keeping his eyes 
fixed on the goal before him ; disdaining the vile arts 
that must debase and contaminate, and never forget- 
ting that 

" Lowliness is young Ambition's ladder," 

will be sure, sooner or later, to win confidence and re- 
spect, and achieve a name and a reputation which the 
coarse denunciations of partisan violence can never 
tarnish. 

It is a blessed thing in the history of our country, 
that the merits of the truly great m.an never fail to be 
acknowledged ; that even those who entertain different 
views, in regard to the policy which should control the 
administration of the government, cherish a feeling of 
pride when they behold the independent spirit which does 
not bend to circumstances, and the uncompromising 
integrity that will not yield to expediency. When the 
career of such a man is ended, the event is mourned 
as a public calamity. All feel the shock — all hasten 
to bestow the tribute of their sorrow, And then it is, 



THE statesman's REWARD. 15 

that men can see and appreciate these truths : that, al- 
though it may afford a transitory gratification, to be 
lauded as the head of a political party, it is a far higher 
triumph for the statesman to secure a place forever in 
the affections of his countrymen ; that wealth and official 
honors are not the only evidences of the gratitude of a 
republic — that they are mere baubles, frail and unsub- 
stantial, in comparison with the fame which has no 
grave ! * 

We have a forcible, though melancholy illustration 
of these sentiments, in the death of the distinguished 
citizen, the incidents of whose life are detailed in the 
present volume. Cut down in the prime and vigor ol 
manhood, when just entering, as it were, upon the bril- 
liant destiny which the fond anticipations of his friends 
had confidently predicted, his loss has been universally 
lamented. It argues well for our institutions — well for 
the hearts of our countrymen — that all classes and par- 
ties were so prompt in the expression of their regret, 
and are so willing to perpetuate whatever of good exam- 
ple he has left behind him. His biography, therefore, 
cannot be devoid of interest, notwithstanding it is, to a 
greater or less extent, that of a politician. Those who 
thought with him may be cheered and encouraged, and 
those who disagreed in opinion, can, at least, admire 
the greatness of soul, the qualities of mind and heart, 
which did him so much credit while in life, and, now 
that he is no more, have added to that glorious legacy 
bequeathed by the honored and the great who have 
gone before him. 

Silas Wright was a lineal descendant of some of 
the earliest emigrants from the mother country. One 
of his ancestors, Samuel Wright, was among the first 



16 THE ANCESTORS OF SILAS WRIGHT. 

settlers of Springfield and Northampton, in the state 
of Massachusetts, and died at the latter place, in 1665. 
His son, Samuel, junior, was killed by the Indians, at 
Northfield, near the New Hampshire line, on the 2nd of 
September, 1675. Joseph, the son of the latter, died 
at Northampton, in 1697, leaving a son, Samuel, who 
died sometime after the year 1740. He left a son, 
bearing the same name with himself, who removed to 
the north part of Hadley township, now Amherst, and 
whose son, Silas, was the father of the subject of these 
memoirs. 

The elder Silas was a tanner, currier, and shoemaker 
by trade. He was apprenticed at an early age, and 
never went to school a day in his life. When he had 
"served out his time," he could neither read nor write, 
but, "with the assistance of his fellow-journeymen, he 
soon qualified himself to keep accounts, and to transact 
all ordinary business. His wife was also a native of 
Hampshire county ; and, after their marriage, she in- 
structed him in many things which he found of great 
service in his subsequent life. She had received a 
good education, and, it may well be presumed, was not 
more willing to teach, than her pupil was apt to learn. 
They had nine children — five sons and four daughters 
— two of whom died in infancy ; the rest, with the ex- 
ception of a younger sister, now reside in Vermont. 
Silas Wright, junior, was born in the town of Amherst, 
Massachusetts, on the 24th of May, 1795. In March, 
1796, his father, having given up the occupation which 
he had previously pursued, removed with his family 
to the town of Weybridge, Addison county, Vermont, 
where he purchased a farm, and devoted his whole time 
to agricultural pursuits. The brothers of Silas like- 
wise became farmers, and the sisters were married to 



HIS COLLEGIATE LIFE. 17 

those engaged in the same honorable employment. 
Thus, the family may be regarded as literally composed 
of tillers of the soil, since the younger Mr. Wright him- 
self spent the latter years of his life, during his relaxa- 
tion from public duties, in cultivating his farm ; and 
hence, too, it is easy to account for the deep interest 
he manifested, on all suitable occasions, in everything 
appertaining to agriculture. 

Like most of his young playmates and associates, 
Silas attended the common schools in winter, and 
worked on the farm in summer, until he had passed his 
fourteenth year. His rare natural endowments were 
remarked in the family, and the tradition is, that his 
father looked upon him with peculiar pride. In order 
to foster the germs of intellect which had begun to de- 
velop themselves, it was determined to send him to an 
academy, where he could fit himself for a collegiate 
course. Having completed his preparatory studies, he 
entered Middlebury College, in August, 1811, and re- 
mained a member of that institution until he graduated, 
in the summer of 1815. During the time he was in 
college, as is well known, party spirit ran high through- 
out the country. In the New England states, particu- 
larly, much ill feeling was exhibited on account of the 
war measures of the administration ; and it required no 
little firmness to bear up against the torrent of public 
sentiment adverse to their prosecution, which it was 
necessary to encounter in that section of the Union. 
His fellow-students were all politicians, and ranged 
themselves with one or the other of the two great par- 
ties. The class to which he belonged averaged about 
thirty, for the whole course of four years, and of this 
number there were but four democrats, including young 
Wright. But he was never daunted at this disparity 



18 COMMENCES THE STUDY OF LAW. 

of Strength, and in later years, he often referred to the 
political discussions which took place in the halls of his 
Alma Mater, as having first enkindled in his bosom that 
ardent attachment to the political party with whose 
fortunes he became identified. 

The elder Mr. Wright was also a democrat. During 
the first contest for the presidency between Adams and 
Jefiferson, in 1796, he took an active part in support 
of the latter. Between 1800 and 1810, he was re- 
peatedly elected a member of the Legislature, and, in 
his limited sphere, labored faithfully to promulgate the 
political sentiments he had adopted. Up to the time 
of his death, which occurred but a few years since, he 
was regarded as a firm, consistent, and determined re- 
publican. Both he and his oldest son were in the bat- 
tle of Plattsburgh, under Macomb, in September, 1814, 
and two of his sons-in-law were volunteers from the 
"Green Mountains," although the Governor of Ver- 
mont, like the Governors of Massachusetts, Rhode 
Island, and Connecticut, refused to call out a single 
man to assist in the defence of the New York frontier, 
on the ground that the militia could not be compelled 
to pass beyond the boundary lines of the respective 
states to which thev belonged. 

In the month of October, 1815, youns: Mr. Wrisrht 
entered the law ofiice of Henry C. Martindale, a gen- 
tleman widely known in the politics of the State of 
New York, who resided at Sandy Hill, Washington 
county. Here he remained about eighteen months, 
when he removed to the city of Albany, where he 
continued his studies with Roger Skinner, at that time 
the Attorney of the United States for the northern 
district of New York. His period of clerkship expired 
early in the year 1819, and he was licensed to practise 



ANECDOTE. 19 

as an Attorney at the January term of the Sapreme 
Court. His health havmg become impaired in conse- 
quence of his intense appHcation to study, and his la- 
bors at the desk, in copying law papers, he spent the 
greater portion of the following summer in travelling 
on horseback, with a view to its restoration, and for 
the purpose of selecting a permanent location. He 
soon regained his strength, as his constitution was 
naturally hearty and vigorous, and his frame stout and 
muscular. 

In his younger days Mr. Wright was fond of athletic 
exercises, and there is an anecdote related of the man- 
ner in which his skill and prowess were put to the test, 
while on his journey, in company with a friend, through 
western New York. On one occasion, they halted for 
the night at a small country inn, in a newly settled 
part of the country. Towards the close of evening a 
number of the young men from the neighborhood col- 
lected together at the tav^ern, as was their usual custom, 
to indulge in the sports and merriment which are fre- 
quently resorted to, in order to relieve the tediousness 
of a backwoods life. Mr. Wright and his friend 
were then, as in after life, both simple in their habits, 
and plain in their appearance ; but, as they had just 
been emancipated from a long and tedious course of 
study, they quite naturally gave freer vent to their 
mirthfulness and gayety. In some way or other, the 
honest, well-meaning countrymen, thought they had 
been insulted by the "young sprigs of the law," as 
they termed Mr. Wright and his comrade. High 
words passed, and then a challenge ensued. After a 
long and severe contest, in which the odds were greatly 
in favor of their opponents, the two travellers not only 
escaped the whipping with which they had been 



20 LOCATES AT CANTON. 

threatened, but came off the victors of the ring. This 
result, as a matter of course, settled the quarrel ; and 
when they departed on their journey the following 
morning, none bade them a more hearty good-speed 
on their way, than their late antagonists. 

Mr. Wright located himself at Canton, in the county 
of St. Lawrence, in the month of October, 1819. The 
village was then new ; it was surrounded by a rural 
population, and the business of the courts was limited 
and unprofitable. The professional emoluments of the 
young lawyer, therefore, were very moderate ; but his 
superior talents, the amenity of his manners, and the 
undeviating kindliness of his disposition, soon made 
him highly popular. There was no seeming effort on 
his part to secure the esteem and respect of his neigh- 
bors and friends ; but they were insensibly drawn to- 
wards him, and it was not long before they learned to 
repose entire confidence in his capacity and integrity. 
The traits in his character which won him so much 
favor and regard, were finely illustrated by the remark 
of the shrew^d and observing farmer, who stated, in 
conversation with an acquaintance of Mr. Wright, 
" that he was the first lawyer he ever saw whose law 
was all common sense ; and that he always gave plain, 
sensible reasons, for his opinions on any subject." His 
duty to his clients was discharged with rigid fidelity 
and punctuality, and none ever complained of his inat- 
tention or neglect. In the trial of causes, he was uni- 
formly kind and courteous ; there was no affected 
dignity in his manner : the counsel arrayed againsf 
him endeavored to imitate his urbanity — the witnesses 
felt " at home" when he questioned them, and cheer- 
fully responded to his inquiries — while the jurors looked 
on and listened with delight. The opposite party, too, 



APPOINTED SURROGATE. 21 

even though unsuccessful, would feel that the bitterness 
of defeat was almost removed, if he could hear the 
pleasant tones of the fortunate advocate addressed to 
him in courtesy and kindness. 

After a short residence in his new home, Mr. Wright 
was selected as the village Postmaster, Captain of the 
local militia company, and Justice of the Peace ; and 
subsequently, on the 24th of February, 1821, he was 
appointed Surrogate of the county of St. Lawrence, 
under the administration of Governor Clinton. When 
he became a magistrate, instead of promoting and en- 
couraging Htigation, hs always discountenanced it ; and 
it was remarked, that he spent more time in reconciling 
differences and restoring harmony, than in performing 
his official duties, and attending to the actual practice 
of his profession. His advice was never asked in vain, 
by the poorest, or the humblest citizen ; it was given 
unhesitatingly, though without fee or reward ; and many 
still remember, with feelings of gratitude, the wise 
counsels which saved them from penury and want. 
Others who refused to follow the course he pointed out, 
were soon taught, by sad experience, to place a higher 
estimate on the prudence and sagacity which they had 
undervalued. In all the relations he sustained, whether 
of neighbor or friend, of counsellor or magistrate, he 
was ever the same — kind, frank, and generous — prompt 
to relieve distress — ready to sympathize with the af- 
flicted — never censuring in anger, but admonishing 
with the tender solicitude of a parent. 

One who knew him, long and intimately,* has said, 
that " whatever tended to promote the substantial in- 
terests of his town, was certain to receive his atten- 

♦ Hon. R. H. GUlett. 



22 KINDNESS AS A FRIEND AND NEIGHBOR. 

tion. The construction of roads and bridges — the 
erection of churches and public edifices, were objects 
that attracted his early attention, and were essentially- 
promoted by the labor of his own hands. Until public 
duty called him away, he often acted as pathmaster in 
his district, and personally performed as much labor as 
any citizen. The competition between his and other 
districts, led to results still visible in his town. * * * 
In case of sickness, he was always the first to offer his 
services. I have known him to walk miles in stormy 
weather, over muddy roads, to watch with the sick. 
No one performed this task more frequently or cheer- 
fully. No one is more devoid of all selfishness. Dur- 
ing my long acquaintance, I never knew him to be 
laying plans for pecuniary gain or personal advance- 
ment. No man has ever accused him of doing a per- 
sonal wrong, or any injustice. He always fulfils his 
engagements, of every description, with scrupulous 
fidelity. The example of Mr. Wright on this, as on 
many other subjects, has exerted a most salutary in- 
fluence upon the citizens of his town, often noticed^ 
, and frequently mentioned, by the people from other 
towns. There are but few among his neighbors, of 
either party, who do not feel heartily proud of him 
and manifest an anxiety to act, so as to meet his ap- 
proval. His frankness and sincerity have made im- 
pressions upon his friends and associates, which a 
stranger will readily notice." 

But the narrow limits of a town or county, were 
scarcely calculated to display the eminent abilities of 
Mr. Wright, and his friends desired to see them tested 
on a wider and broader field. For this purpose, but 
without the slightest expectation of such an event on 
his part, his name was presented, in the fall of 1823, to 



NOMINATED FOR STATE SENATOR. 

the republican convention of the fourth senate dis- 
trict, (at that time consisting of the counties of Sara- 
toga, Montgomery and Hamilton, Washington, War- 
ren, Clinton, Essex, Franklin, and St. Lawrence,) and 
he was nominated as their candidate for State Senator. 
The opposition of Dewitt Clinton, and his friends, to 
the convention of 1821, and other minor causes, had 
produced an entirely new organization of parties. The 
supporters of Mr. Clinton were styled Clintonians, 
while his opponents were known as Buck tails, anti- 
Clintonians, or republicans. When Mr. Wright set- 
tled in St. Lawrence county, a large majority of the 
electors were friendly to jMr. Clinton. This was also 
the case in that entire section of country. But the 
first election under the new constitution, Vv'hich took 
place in November, 1822, was suffered to go by default. 
Although Mr. Southwick took the stump, and received 
a few votes for the office of governor, no candidate 
was nominated in opposition to Judge Yates. Of the 
thirty-two senators chosen at this election, not one was 
friendly to Mr. Clinton. The fourth district, neverthe- 
less, was regarded as debateable ground ; and as Mr. 
Wright had at all times, and on all occasions, frankly 
avowed his political sentiments, and was well known to 
be a firm and decided member of the anti-Clintonian 
party, his election was a matter of verv great doubt. 

Another cause which, it was feared, might have a 
tendency to insure his defeat, v/as the question of the 
passage of an electoral law, which had recently become 
mixed up with the politics of the state. The presiden- 
tial canvass for the successor of Mr. Monroe, com- 
menced in the city of Washington early in 1822. A 
great number of candidates were brought forward, and 
the excitement continued gradually to increase, until 



24 STATE OF POLITICAL PARTIES. 

the ensuing year, when it formed the principal topic of 
discussion and conversation among poUticians. The 
federalists proper remained aloof from the contest, 
at least during its earlier stages. A majority of the 
democrats, in the northern and middle states, were in 
favor of the nomination of John Quincy Adams; but 
William H. Crawford, of Georgia, was probably the 
strongest candidate in the Union at large. General 
Jackson, John C. Calhoun, and Henry Clay, were also 
urged by their respective friends in different parts of 
the country. At first, the various factions were ex- 
ceedingly jealous of each other ; but, finally, those op- 
posed to Mr. Crawford entered into a sort of conven- 
tional league, to force him from the field, leaving the 
question between themselves as an open one, to be de- 
termined after they had removed the common enemy. 
Martin Van Buren, Erastus Root, and other leading re- 
publicans in tlie state of New York, were in favor of 
Mr. Crawford, but those who acted with them were 
divided in regard to the several candidates. The same 
was true with respect to the Clintonians. While Mr. 
Chnton himself was anxious to see General Jackson 
elevated to the presidency, a great diversity of opin- 
ion prevailed among his friends upon the subject. At 
the session of Congress in 1822-23 the views of the 
members were pretty well ascertained. It was evident 
that Mr. Crawford would be much the strongest candi- 
date in a caucus ; and the supporters of Adams, Cal- 
houn, Clay, and Jackson, forthwith determined that one 
should not be called, although it had been customary to 
make nominations in that way, ever since the organiza- 
tion of the democratic party. This movement alarmed 
the Crawfordites, and they endeavored to bring the in- 
fluence of the New York Legislature to bear in the 



THE CANVASS FOR THE PRESIDENCY. 25 

premises. For this purpose, a meeting of the repub- 
lican members of that body was held at Albany, on the 
22nd of April, 1823, and a resolution adopted '• in favor 
of calling a congressional caucus, to select candidates 
for President and Vice President." The proceedings 
of this meeting were immediately forwarded to Wash- 
ington, but they failed to produce any impression, ex- 
cept that of increasing the zeal and activity of the op- 
ponents of i\Ir. Crawford. 

In the sunmier of 1823, the jNew York American 
came out decidedly in favor of Mr. Adams for the next 
President, while the National Advocate, then edited by 
Mr. Noah, as warmly espoused the cause of Mr. Craw- 
ford, and claimed to be the only truly republican jour- 
nal in the citv. With a view of counteractincr the in- 
fluence of the Advocate, as far as possible, Heniy 
Wheaton, \^ ho v/as then understood to be in the confi- 
dence of Mr. Calhoun, procured the establishment of a 
new paper, called '•' The New York Patriot," which 
was placed in the editorial charge of Mr. Gardner. 
This paper opposed tlie election of Mr. Crawford, but 
did not support any particular candidate. It was also 
feared, that a majority of the members to be elected to 
the next Legislature, upon whom would devolve the 
choice of electors, might be too much under the con- 
trol of Mr. Van Buren ; and to prevent this result, a 
plan was matured bv a citizen of Albanv, and advo- 
cated in the Patriot, for giving such choice to the peo- 
ple themselves. This measure, though nothing but a 
political stratagem in its inception, proved to be highly 
popular, and a party denominated " The People's Party," 
was formed for carrvinf]^ it into effect. The friends of 
Mr. Crawford, in the state of New York, were called 
" The Regency Party," by their opponents ; and the 

2 



26 ELECTED SENATOR. 

canvass previous to the fall election was conducted 
with much spirit and animation. The proposed alter- 
ation of the electoral law was certainly democratic in 
its character, and setting aside the circumstances un- 
der which it was presented, it would probably have 
commanded a very general support. As it was, a large 
proportion of the candidates put in nomination, were 
compelled to pledge themselves in its favor. Among 
others, Mr. Wright avowed himself in general terms, to 
be friendlv to such a law ; and this declaration, added 
to his wide-spread popularity in the county of St. Law- 
rence, secured his election in a district which might 
otherwise have been carried against him. The Clin- 
tonian candidate. General Moers, of Jefferson county, 
received a majority in the district, out of St. Lawrence, 
but the friends and neighbors of Mr. Wright gave an 
almost united vote in his favor. 



CHAPTER II. 

1824. — State of Parties in the Legislature of 1824 — Message of Gov- 
ernor Yates — The Electoral Question brought forward in the Assem- 
bly — Mr. Flagg — Reference of the Bill to a Committee in the Senate 
— The Presidential Canvass at Washington — Congressional Caucus 
— Report in the New York Senate on the Electoral Bill — Discussion 
thereon — Various Propositions to Amend — Mr. Wright's Plan — His 
Speech — Postponement of the Bill — The Seventeen Senators — Nom- 
ination of Colonel Young — Removal of Dewitt Clinton from the office 
of Canal Commissioner — Course of Governor Yates in regard to the 
Electoral Question — Extra Session of the Legislature — .Adjournment 
— The Clintonian and People's Convention — Election of Mr. Clinton 
as Governor — Choice of Presidential Electors — The Subject of an 
Electoral I-aw referred to the People. — Objects of those who origi- 
nated the Proposition — Mr. Wright's Course in relation thereto — Le- 
gislative Session of 1825 — Unsuccessful attempt to Nominate a Uni- 
ted States Senator — Defeat of Judge Spencer and the Causes thereof 
— Legislature of 182G— November Election — Mr. Wright chosen a 
Member of Congress — 182G. 

The people's party did not succeed in electing a 
majority of the members of Assembly at the November 
election in 1823, although it was understood that up- 
wards of seventy were committed in favor of the elec- 
toral law. The republicans, or bucktails, had secured 
a greater share of the members, but the friends of Mr. 
Crawford were in the minority. Mr. Wheaton was 
elected in the city of Nev/ York, on the people's ticket, 
and General Tallmadge in the county of Dutchess. 
Amons the Clintonian members chosen at this election, 
were Samuel J. Wilkin, of Orange county, and Ga- 



28 TAKES HIS SEAT IN THE STATE SENATE. 

maliel H. Barstow, of Tioga. The most prominent 
republicans were Messrs. Flagg, Edwards, and Ruger, 
who were friendly to Mr. Crawford ; and Messrs. Hos- 
mer, Whiting, and Mullet, who supported Mr. Clay. 

The Legislature commenced its annual session on 
the 6th of January, 1824 ; at which time Mr. Wright 
took his seat as a member of the Senate. Mr. Wheaton, 
General Talimadge, and others, who had been elected 
by the people's party, and were known as anti-Clinto- 
nians, met with the republican members at the caucus 
held on the evening preceding the first day of the ses- 
sion, and an attempt was made to nominate General 
Talimadge as the candidate for speaker ; but Mr. 
Goodell, of Jefferson county, received a large majority 
of the votes, and was afterwards elected in the House. 
Governor Yates called the attention of the Legislature, 
in his annual message, to the proposed change in the 
mode of choosing presidential electors ; but expressed 
no definite opinion on the subject, though he left it to 
be inferred that he desired the Legislature to retain the 
power in their own hands. Soon after the preliminary 
organization had been completed in the Assembly, Mr. 
Wheaton gave notice that he would bring in a bill 
authorizing the people to choose the electors of Presi- 
dent and Vice President. Mr. Flagg thereupon offered 
a resolution, referring the whole subject to a select 
committee of nine members. 

For several years there had been but two parties in 
the state, and in the Legislature of 1824, the memb3rs 
were divided into Bucktails and Clintonians, on all 
matters affecting their internal politics. But the mo- 
ment the question of the presidency was brought up, 
there were " six Richmonds in the field." Although 
the friends of the other candidates united in their op- 



THE ELECTORAL aUESTION. 29 

position to Mr. Crawford, they were very cautious that 
nothing should be done to injure the prospects of their 
especial favorite. The adherents of General Jackson 
were few in number, but they sat patiently by, hoping 
that they might be called in as umpires, in which event 
they could take the oyster to themselves, and leave the 
shells for the contentious disputants. The introduction 
of Mr. Flagg's resolution, set in motion all the stormy 
elements which had been collecting their energies in 
anticipation of the approaching struggle. It was ve- 
hemently attacked by Wheaton, Tallmadge, Barstow, 
and Wilkin, and defended with equal warmth by Flagg, 
Edw^ards, Ruger, Hosmer, Whiting, and Mullet. The 
mover of the resolution was charged with an intention 
to embarrass the proceedings of the Legislature, and to 
evade, or delay action on the electoral bill. Mr. Flagg 
defended himself with ability against the weight of tal- 
ent arrayed on the opposite side, and succeeded in car- 
rying his resolution through the House, by the decisive 
vote of seventy-six to forty-seven. 

After holding several meeting's, the committee on the 
electoral question, which was composed of a majority 
of Craw^ford men, agreed to report a bill, giving to the 
people the power of choosing the electors by a major- 
ity of all the votes, and providing that, in case no choice 
should be had, the election should be made by the Legis- 
lature. An animated discussion took place on the 
merits of the bill, and the provisional clause, authoriz- 
ing the Legislature to make choice of the electors, 
where there was a failure to elect by the people, was 
stricken out. The test question in the existing state 
of parties, as neither candidate had a majority, was 
then presented, in the shape of an amendment, substi- 
tuting the choice hy a plurality, instead of that by a 



30 VOTE ON THE ELECTORAL BILL. 

majority of the votes. The amendment was defeated 
by a vote of sixty-four to fifty-two. This result was 
produced by a union of the Adams and Clay Bucktails 
with the Crawford men; the former being apprehen- 
sive that Mr. Clinton would be brought forward as a 
candidate for the presidency, if a plurality vote could 
secure the electors. The majority feature Vv^as there- 
fore retained, and in that shape the bill passed the 
House. 

In the Senate, on the 6th of February, the electoral 
bill was referred to a committee, of which Charles E. 
Dudley, afterwards a senator in Congress, was chair- 
man. The whole subject was suffered to rest in quiet, 
until the 20th of the same month, when a resolution 
offered by Mr. Ogden, requesting the committee to re- 
port, was debated in the Senate. Mr. Ogden, Mr. 
Burt, and Mr. Cramer, advocated its passage, but it was 
opposed by Mr. Wright, Mr. Wheeler, and Mr. Sudam. 
On motion of the last named gentleman, the consider- 
ation of the resolution was indefinitely postponed, by a 
vote of twenty-one to nine, Mr. Wright voting in the 
affirmative. The object of this postponement may be 
understood, by a reference to the condition of things 
at Washington. The breach in the republican party 
had grown wider and wider. Considerable bitterness 
of feeling was manifested on the part of the rival inter- 
ests, and the determination of the opponents of Mr. 
Crawford not to go into a caucus, where he would be 
certain to have a much larger vote than either of the 
opposing candidates, was made knovv^n in positive terms. 
Each faction was fearful that a combination mio-ht be 
formed between the friends of Mr. Crav/ford, and the 
adherents of some one of the opposing candidates. If 
no caucus was held, there would not be an opportunity 



EFFORTS TO DEFEAT MR. CRAWFORD. 31 

to accomplish any such purpose, supposing that it was 
in contemplation, except in the House of Representa- 
tives, where the opponents of Mr. Crawford were de- 
sirous of having the matter determined, inasmuch as 
his strength lay principally in the larger states, and the 
manner of voting in that body would deprive him of 
every chance of an election. The refusal to go into a 
caucus was regarded by the Crawford men as an act 
of bad faith, because it was a departure from the in- 
variable usage of the republican party ; and hopes 
were entertained that a portion of the refractory mem- 
bers, sufficient to constitute a majority, would be will- 
ing to attend a meeting, provided one was called. Ac- 
cordingly, Mr. Forsyth and Mr. Dickerson, on the part 
of the friends of Mr. Crawford, issued a notice on the 
6th of February, calling a meeting of the democratic 
members of Congress, on the 14th instant, for the pur- 
pose of nominating a candidate for President. When 
Mr. Ogden's resolution was under discussion in the 
New York Legislature, it was known that such a no- 
tice had been issued, but the result of the caucus was 
not yet ascertained. In a few days, however, it was 
understood, that but sixty-six, out of two hundred and 
sixty-one members of Congress, had attended the caucus. 
Notwithstanding this result, the friends of Mr. Craw- 
ford were not disposed to give up the contest. They 
thought that a great deal of unfairness had been shown 
on the part of the other candidates ; and they then de- 
termined absolutely to prevent the passage of an elec- 
toral law, in the hope of being able to secure the elec- 
tors if they were chosen by the Legislature. As an 
abstract proposition, the measure was approved by a 
majority of Mr. Crawford's friends ; but, under the cir- 
cumstances of the case, as it was evident, in their opin^ 



32 REPORT IN THE NEW-YORK SENATE. 

ion, that it was the intention of his opponents to force 
the presidential question into the House of Represen- 
tatives, and thus reduce New York, Virginia, North 
Carolina and Georgia, to a level with the smallest state 
in the Union, thev were unwilling to do anvthinor to 
favor such a T)roject. 

On the 26th of February, the committee on the 
electoral law reported adversely to the passage of the 
bill. The reasons which they presented in support of 
their conclusions, may be found in the following ex- 
tracts from their report : — 

" The conmiittee are not apprised that there are at 
this time any peculiar objections against tlie present 
mode of appointing electors, which have not heretofore 
existed with equal force ; but the committee do think 
that proof in favor of the j^olicy of its original adop- 
tion, and of its continuance until a uniform mode is 
adopted throughout the several states, by an amend- 
ment to the constitution, is derived from the peculiar 
circumstances of the present period. There never was 
before so much distraction of public opinion on the 
subject of the presidency, nor so many competitors for 
that exalted station ; consequently, the danger that an 
election may finally devolve upon the House of Repre- 
sentatives was never so imminent. Such an event, the 
committee are satisfied, must be viewed by every sober- 
minded and reflecting citizen, as pregnant with the 
most alarming consequences ; intrigue, and, perhaps, 
corruption, would be called in to compete vvith the legit- 
imate power, for, perhaps, the most splendid prize ever 
offered to cupidity and ambition. The established 
principles of a republican government would be sub- 
verted, by putting the power to choose a President into 
the hands of a small minority ; the state of New York, 



REPORT CONTINUED. 33 

with its thirty-four representatives, would be entitled to 
only one vote ; and the states of Delaware, Mississippi, 
Illinois, and Missouri, with only one representative 
each, would be entitled to four votes. # * * * * 
Such consequences would, probably, be prevented by a 
choice of electors, in large states, by the Legislature ; 
because, in that case, the danger of a divided vote 
would, as has been heretofore seen, be avoided. * * 

"At this time several propositions to amend the 
constitution, and to establish a uniform mode, are pend- 
ing before Congress, and there is every reason to be- 
lieve that success will speedily attend these efforts, 
unless opposition is elicited from the smaller states. 
But if New York, at this most inauspicious moment, 
should immediately set the example, which may be fol- 
lowed by the other large states, of forbearing to exercise 
its right in a way to secure a united vote, the small 
states, duly appreciating their advantage over the 
others, will be encouraged to withhold their assent to 
any of the proposed amendments. ****** 

" The committee are therefore of opinion, for the 
reasons set forth in this report, that it would not be ex- 
pedient to pass the bill from the Assembly, or any other 
bill changing the present mode of appointing electors 
of President and Vice-President of the United States ; 
or, at least, until the efforts which are now seriously 
making in Congress to establish a uniform rule of ap- 
pointment, by an amendment of the constitution of the 
United States, by which the people can elect by dis- 
tricts, have either terminated in the adoption or rejec- 
tion of such amendment by that body." 

This report was taken up in the Senate, on the 10th 
day of March, when Mr. Cramer moved to amend it, 
by striking out the last clause, and inserting a resolu- 

2* 



34 DISCUSSION OF THE aUESTION. 

tion, declaring that it was expedient to pass a law, " at 
the present session of the Legislature, giving to the peo- 
ple of this state the choice of electors of President and 
Vice President." In the discussion which ensued, Mr. 
Wright took a prominent part. He was already con- 
spicuous as a debater, and his clearness of intellect, and 
strong reasoning powers, were acknowledged on all 
sides. Propositions to amend the resolution of Mr. 
Cramer, by inserting a clause, providing that the 
choice should be made "by congressional districts," 
and another requiring " a plurality of votes," were pre- 
sented by different senators. Mr. Wright opposed both 
propositions ; but voted in favor of an amendment, re- 
quiring the election to be made by general ticket. 
While the question was under consideration, Mr. 
Wright offered an amendment, providing for the choice 
of electors by general ticket, and by a majority of 
votes, except that the state electors were to be chosen 
by the Legislature, who v/ere also to have the pov/er of 
filling up all vacancies in the electoral college. But 
three senators voted with him in favor of this proposi- 
tion. The resolution of Mr. Cramer, as amended, was 
then adopted — yeas sixteen, nays fifteen — Mr. Wright 
voting with the majority. Mr. Ogden then moved to 
commit the bill and report to a committee of the whole ; 
whereupon, Mr. Livingston moved to postpone " the 
further consideration of the report and bill to the first 
Monday of November" — that being a day beyond the 
extra session ; at which, under the existing laws, the 
electors would be chosen by the Legislature. Before 
the question was taken, Mr. Wright made some re- 
marks in defence of the vote he was about to give, 
which were thus summed up in the legislative report 
of the Albany Argus : — 



REMARKS OF MR. WRIGHT. 35 

" Mr. Wright said he had the honor of offering a 
proposition giving to the people the choice of electors 
hy general ticket, and hy a majority of votes, which he 
had supposed the only safe system to be adopted. He 
had, however, been unfortunate enough not to be able 
to induce but three members of the Senate to think vv^ith 
him, after all the reasons he could offer in favor of the 
proposition. A proposition had then been made to make 
the choice hy districts, which, after being fully and ably 
discussed, had received but two votes. And now, said 
Mr. W., v/e have rejected the proposition to choose by 
general ticket and plurality of votes. Divisions have 
been taken upon all these propositions, and the name 
of every member of the House stands recorded upon 
our journals, with his vote upon each proposition dis- 
tinctly given. These, jMr. W. said, were all the propo- 
sitions he had heard suggested, nor had he ingenuity 
enourrh to sue^est or devise a fourth. He, therefore, 
despaired of even a hope that the Senate could agree 
upon a law, as he did not believe that mem/bers trifled 
with their votes upon this important subject, or were 
prepared to change their names as they already stood 
upon the journals. These being his views, Mr. W. 
said he should vote for the postponement, unless he 
could hear some reasons to convince him that his con- 
clusions were not correct. The resolution (Mr. Cra- 
mer's) just taken could not be made effective, as both 
the majority and plurality systems, by one of which 
alone it could be made so, had been deliberately re- 
jected, and he saw no good reason for spending more 
time on the subject." 

The vote on Mr. Livingston's motion was as fol- 
lows : — 

Yeas — Messrs. Bowman, Bowne, Bronson, Dudley, 



36 THE SEVENTEEN SENATORS. 

Earll, Greenly, Keyes, Lefferts, Livingston, Mallory, 
McCall, Redfield, Stranahan, Sudam, Ward, Wooster, 
Wright — seventeen. 

'Nays — Messrs. Burrows, Burt, Clark, Cramer, Gar- 
diner, Green, Haight, Lynde, Mclntyre, Morgan, Nel- 
son, Ogden, Tliorn, Wheeler — fourteen. 

The senators voting in the affirmative, on the motion 
of Mr. Livingston, were afterwards known in the polit- 
ical history of the state of New York, as the famous 
" seventeen senators." While their conduct w'as con- 
demned in the most unequivocal terms, by the party 
opposed to them, their friends were equally zealous in 
its defence. A large majority of the electors in the 
state, however, overlooking the circumstances under 
which the law was presented, and not yet acquainted 
with the character of the project, which was subse- 
quently developed in the election of Mr. Adams by the 
House of Representatives, were in favor of the electo- 
ral law, and were highly indignant at the course taken 
to defeat it in the Senate. A portion of this indigna- 
tion was visited upon Governor Yates. At the caucus 
held by the republican members of the Legislature, his 
re-nomination was urged by his friends, among whom 
were Mr. Wright and Mr. Flagg, w^ho insisted that he 
ought not to be sacrificed for aiding to carry a party 
measure into effect. But it was finally determined to 
take up a new man for governor, and the nomination 
was conferred on Colonel Young. 

Apprehensions were entertained before the close of 
the session, that Dewitt Clinton would be nominated 
by the people's party, as their candidate for governor. 
Mr. Wheaton, and others, protested that there was no 
such design in contemplation, and it was then gene- 
rally understood that Mr. Tallmadge would receive the 



REMOVAL OF DEWITT CLINTON. 37 

nomination. In order to test the disposition of the 
anti-Clintonians in the people's party, a resolution was 
submitted in the Senate, by Mr. Bowman, removing 
Mr. Clinton from the office of canal commissioner. 
The resolution was adopted, with but three dissenting 
voices, — Messrs. Cramer, Morgan, and Mclntyre. In 
the House, the vote stood sixty-four in favor of the 
removal, to thirty-four against it. General Tallmadge, 
Mr. Wheaton, and nearly all the Adams men belong- 
ing to the people's party, voted in the affirmative. 

When some one remarked to Fouche, that the mur- 
der of the Duke d'Enghien, was a foul blot upon the 
character of Napoleon, he replied, " It was more — it 
was a mistake !" The removal of Mr. Clinton was 
something very similar — it was an ill-advised act. It 
not only opened the way to his nomination, but it often 
returned to plague the inventors. The act itself was 
hardly deserving of condemnation, because it proceeded 
from the avowed political opponents of Mr. Clinton ; 
and it is not uncharitable to him-^nor unjust to his 
memory — to say, that no man encouraged party pro- 
scription more than himself Who that was acquainted 
with the removal of the Burrites, the Lewisites, and the 
Livingstons, from office, would regret to see the chalice 
presented, in its turn, to his own lips ? Still, the policy 
of this movement was most unfortunate for the repub- 
lican party, and no doubt it was soon regretted by 
those who were the most active in its accomplishment. 

The rejection of Governor Yates by the republican 
caucus, was by no means agreeable to his feelings ; and 
he seems to have entertained the opinion, after the ad- 
journment of the Legislature, that, should he come out 
openly in favor of the electoral bill, he might obtain the 
nomination in the people's convention, which was to 



38 GOV. YATES, AND THE LEGISLATURE. 

be held on the 21st of September. He therefore de- 
termined on calling an extra session, that he might have 
an opportunity to make known the change in his opin- 
ions. His proclamation for that purpose, was dated 
on the 2nd of June, and, after adverting to the fact, 
that Congress had made no provision for changing the 
mode of selecting the presidential electors, he went on 
to say, that " the people v/ere justly alarmed wdth the 
apprehension, that their undoubted right of choosing 
the electors of President and Vice-President would be 
withheld from them ;" and to prevent this result, he 
thought proper to call the two Houses together. 

The Legislature re-assembled on the 2nd of August, 
in pursuance of the executive proclamation. Imme- 
diately after the reading of the governor's message in 
the House, Mr. Flagg offered the following resolutions : 

" Resolved, That since the last adjournment of the 
Legislature, nothing has transpired within the letter or 
spirit of the constitution, requiring an extraordinary 
session at this tim^ ; and therefore the proclamation of 
the governor convening the same is not warranted by 
the constitution. 

" Resolved, That inasmuch as the transaction of 
legislative business, in obedience to a proclamation thus 
illegally issued, and especially in relation to a subject 
which had been repeatedly discussed and acted upon 
by the Legislature at their last meeting, would sanction 
a precedent of dangerous tendency ; it is due to the 
members of the Legislature, as well as to the consti- 
tution under which they sit, and the oath they have 
taken to support it, as to the highest and best interests 
of their constituents, that they should forthwith ad- 
journ. Therefore, 

" Resolved, (If the Senate concur,) the two Houses 



CLINTONIAN AND PEOPLe's CONVENTION. 39 

will immediately adjourn, to meet again pursuant to 
law." 

General Tallmadge opposed the adoption of the reso- 
lutions, but the first two were passed by a strong vote, 
and the third was temporarily postponed. A resolu- 
tion was also adopted, on the same day, by a vote of 
seventy-five to forty-four, declaring that an electoral 
law ought to be enacted. In the Senate a resolution 
was sustained, by seventeen to fifteen, Mr. Wright 
voting in its favor, affirming generally that the people 
ought to have the privilege of choosing their own 
electors. On the 3rd of August, Mr. Ogden presented 
a resolution declaring that it was expedient to pass a 
law at the then session of the Legislature. This was 
lost, by the same ominous vote of seventeen to fifteen 
— Mr. Wright being again with the majority. The 
resolutions of the House, to which was now added the 
third providing for the adjournment, were then adopted, 
and after a brief session of four days, the members 
returned to their several homes. 

At the convention held by the friends of the electoral 
bill, in September, the Clintonians were in the major- 
ity, and succeeded in nominating their favorite leader 
as the candidate for governor. The original people's 
men in the convention took umbras^e at this, and a 
large number of them withdrew, in a body, and formed 
a separate organization. General Tallmadge was se- 
lected as the candidate for lieutenant-governor, with 
the unanimous approbation of both organizations, al- 
though he had voted for the removal of Mr. Clinton. 
This completed what was called the Clintonian and 
People's ticket. 

The November election resulted in the complete 
overthrow of the republican ascendency. The re- 



40 CHOICE or PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS. 

moval of Mr. Clinton had added new fuel to the popu- 
lar indignation, and his friends eagerly availed them- 
selves of the argument it afforded to promote his elec- 
tion. He received a large majority of the votes, and 
General Tallmadge was elected by a still larger ma- 
jority. Six of the eight senators chosen at this elec- 
tion, and more than three-fourths of the members of 
Assembly, were either Clintonians or People's men. 

On the 2nd of November, the Legislature again 
convened to make choice of presidential electors. On 
the 10th, the Senate nominated electors friendly to Mr. 
Crawford, by the votes of the seventeen senators who 
had postponed the electoral bill. The Adams and Clay 
electoral tickets received seven votes each. In the 
House, the choice of electors was attended with more 
difficulty. On the first ballot, the Adams ticket re- 
ceived fifty votes ; the Crawford ticket, forty-three ; 
and the Clay ticket, thirty-two ; but an agreement was 
afterwards entered into between the Adams and Clay 
men, and a union ticket formed, composed of the friends 
of both the candidates. Upon a joint ballot of the 
two Houses, thirty-two of the Adams and Clay electors 
were declared chosen. A second ballot was then had, 
and the whole number was completed, by the choice of 
four Crawford electors. This result was produced by 
the defection of a portion of the Adams men, which, 
in all probability, prevented the election of Mr. Clay as 
President of the United States. It was at that time 
well known that there w^ould be no choice by the elec- 
tors, and that General Jackson and Mr. Adams would 
be the two candidates highest on the list. The contest, 
therefore, was between the friends of Mr. Crawford and 
Mr. Clay, as to which should be presented to the 



THE ELECTORAL aUESTION SETTLED. 41 

House of Representatives ; and the four electoral votes 
of New York decided it in favor of the former. 

Previous to their adjournment, the Legislature passed 
a law to obtain an expression of opinion from the 
electors of the state, as to the manner in which an elec- 
toral law should be framed. The inspectors of election 
were required to provide three boxes, at the next an-^ 
nual election, which were to be respectively labelled — 
"By districts" — "By general ticket, pluraUty" — "By 
general ticket, majority" — and in which the ballots of 
the voters corresponding with the labels were to be de- 
posited. The result of this voting was certified by the 
secretary of state to the Legislature, at its annual 
session in 1826 ; and a law was then passed in accord- 
ance with the decision of the people. 

The passage of this law terminated the discussion 
upon a most exciting question ; though it was long be- 
fore the feelings which had been engendered were 
suffered to die away ; and whenever one of the " sev- 
enteen senators" came before the people as a candidate 
for their suffrages, the journals of 1824 were sure to 
be ransacked in search of electioneering materials. At 
the time, without doubt, their course was exceedingly 
unpopular ; but it is a somewhat singular fact, that 
many of them w^ere afterwards repeatedly elected to 
some of the highest offices in the state, and that, too, 
by unusually large majorities. The history of the 
electoral question is here presented in detail, because 
of its connection with the name of Silas Wright. 
Upon a calm and dispassionate review of the facts, 
taken together with the election of Mr. Adams, by the 
House of Representatives, in the winter of 1825, no 
fair-minded man will hesitate to acknowledge the cor- 
rectness of these conclusions : — 



42 OBJECTS OF ITS MOVERS. 

1. That the republican party in 1824, was very 
much divided upon the question of the presidential 
succession ; and that this division resulted in a serious 
quarrel, and rupture in their ranks. 

2. That the electoral project in the state of New 
York, vvas originated and proposed for a special politi- 
cal purpose, viz. the defeat of Mr. Crawford ; and 
that its most strenuous advocates in the Legislature, 
showed most plainly, by their conduct in the fall of 
1824, and in the winter of 1825, that they were actu- 
ated, rather by selfish impulses, than by any sincere de- 
sire to surrender to the people a right which had been 
improperly withheld from them. 

3. That a plan was early formed at Washington, to 
prevent a choice of President by the electoral colleges, 
in order that the same might devolve upon the House 
of Representatives. 

4. That the opponents of Mr. Crawford committed 
the first act of bad faith, in refusing to abide by the es- 
tablished usages of the party to which they claimed to 
belong ; and that the inevitable tendency of their move- 
ments was, to produce a result more destructive of pop- 
ular rights, than anything which transpired in the New 
York Legislature. 

The question still remains, however, whether Mr. 
Wright was, or was not, deserving of censure for the 
course he thought proper to pursue ? That he was un- 
derstood to be in favor of the passage of an electoral 
law, at the time of his election in the fall of 1823, is not 
doubted. It was a prominent topic of discussion, and 
his views were likely to be inquired after. At no time 
in his life was he the man to conceal his opinions, on 
any subject, from his constituents ; and he did not dis- 
guise his sentiments in regard to the proposed change 



MR. Wright's course. 43 

in the mode of choosinor electors. The strono- vote 
also, that he received in his own county, which had 
previously given a large Clintonian majority, is evidence 
that he agreed with the electors, as to the propriety of 
adopting the proposition which had been sus^gested. 
But if he succeeded as the friend of an electoral law, 
he was also chosen as a decided supporter of Mr. Craw- 
ford. The developments made at the capital of the 
National Government, in the Vv'inter of 1824, s^ave an 
entirely new aspect to the whole question. At Albany, 
the opponents of Mr. Crawford were clamorous for the 
passage of an electoral law ; while, at Washington, 
they were engaged in an attempt to nullify the voice 
of the larger states in the Union, and were striving 
night and day, to prevent a choice by the electors, and 
remove the selection of their chief magistrate still far- 
ther from the people. True, this was one of the modes 
which the constitution provided for the election of a 
President ; but the Crawford-men in the New" York 
Legislature, only proposed to observe the law which 
they found upon the statute book. The alternative, 
then, which was presented to Mr. Wright, and the six- 
teen senators who voted with him, was — either to post- 
pone the subject until the danger they apprehended had 
passed, or, by carrying the proposition into effect at 
once, to divide the vote of New York, and thus pro- 
duce a state of things yet more reprehensible than that 
which they were called upon to remedy. The fact that 
the vote of the state was ultimately divided, does not 
alter this view of the case. Mr. Wrisfht and his asso- 
ciates decided to postpone the question ; and if the re- 
sult of the election in 1825, may be taken as a criterion, 
which it certainlv was, a maioritv of the electors in 
the state approved their course. At that election the 



44 DEFEAT OF JUDGE SPENCER. 

members of the Legislature were chosen, by which Mr. 
Flagg, the leader of the Crawford party in the Assem- 
bly, when the electoral bill was under discussion, was 
first appointed secretary of state. 

The error committed by Mr. Wright and his friends, 
and that it was an error he would himself have admit- 
ted, consisted in voting, or making any efforts for the 
passage of an electoral law, after the refusal of the op- 
ponents of Mr. Crawford to go into a caucus. Had 
they come out openly at that time, and pointing to the 
position of affairs at Washington as their justification, 
avowed their fixed and unalterable determination not 
to change the law until the presidential question was 
decided, there would have been no room for censure. 
By pursuing a different course, they left that to be in- 
ferred, which would have appeared much better, and 
produced a more powerful im.pression, if enforced in 
their speeches, and in the columns of the able journals 
which had advocated the election of Mr. Cravvford. 

Soon after the commencement of the session of the 
Legislature in 1825, it became apparent that General 
Tallmadge, Messrs. Ogden, Burrows, Gardiner, and 
other leading members of the people's party, were de- 
termined to thwart the wishes of Governor Clinton. 
The term of service of Rufus King as a senator in 
Congress, would expire on the 4th of March, 1825. 
He had declined a re-election, on account of his ad- 
vanced age, and the Clintonians generally were desirous 
of bestowing the office on Ambrose Spencer, the late 
chief justice of the supreme court. His election was 
defeated by a union of the Crawford and People's men 
in the Senate, who prevented a nomination by that 
body. The first day of February was fixed, by law, 
for the choice of senators in Congress. On that day 



NO CHOICE OF U. S. SENATOR. 45 

an attempt was made to nominate a candidate in the 
Senate, with the following result : — Amhrose Spencer 
was nominated by Messrs. Brayton, Clark, Golden, 
Cramer, Crary, Mclntyre, McMichael, Morgan, Spen- 
cer, and Wilkeson ; James Tallmadge, by Messrs. 
Burt and Lynde ; Edward P. Livingston, by Messrs. 
Dudley and Mallory ; Victory Birdseije, by Messrs. 
Earll and Wright ; Samuel Young, by Messrs. Ellsworth 
and Haight ; and John W. Taylor, by Messrs. Gardiner 
and Ogden. Each of the remaining senators, viz. 
Messrs. Bowman, Burrows, Greenly, Keyes, Lake, Lef- . 
ferts, McCall, Redfield, Thorn, Ward, and Wooster, 
voted for a separate candidate. After the result was 
announced, Mr. Wilkeson offered a resolution, declaring 
Ambrose Spencer to be duly nominated on the part of 
the Senate. This was lost — yeas eleven, nays twenty. 
Similar resolutions, containing the names of James 
Tallmadge and Samuel Young, were then offered by 
Mr. Wilkeson, both of w^hich were laid on the table, on 
motion, respectively, of Mr. Redfield and Mr. Wright. 
A second attempt was then made to nominate, which 
also proved ineffectual, Mr. Spencer being nominated 
by only eight senators, and the others scattering their 
votes among the various candidates. A resolution was 
now offered by Mr. Wilkeson, nominating John W. 
Taylor, which was lost — yeas nine, nays twenty-two. 
After taking this vote the Senate adjourned. 

The Constitution of the United States provides, that 
" the Senate shall be composed of two senators from 
each state, chosen by the Legislature thereof;" and by 
the laws of New York, as thev existed in 1828,* it was 
necessary that the Senate and Assembly should each 
openly nominate one person for the office of senator 

* 1 Revised Laws, 162. 



46 CAUSES OF spencer's defeat. 

in Congress; after which, the two Houses were to meet 
and compare nominations. If the nominations agreed, 
the person so nominated was to be declared appointed ; 
but, if they disagreed, it was provided that the election 
should be made in joint ballot. This last result, it will 
be seen, could not be produced until a majority of the 
Senate had selected a candidate. The effect of the 
scattering vote of the Crawford and People's men was, 
to prevent any selection. Mr. Spencer was nominated 
in the Assembly by a vote of seventy-seven to forty-five; 
but, as the Senate adjourned without presenting a candi- 
date, no choice was made in the manner provided by law. 
It is more than probable that the friends of Judge 
Spencer would have pursued a similar course with that 
taken by the majority of the Senate, had the situation 
of things been reversed, as their feelings towards the 
Crawford men and General Tallmadge were peculiarly 
bitter and vindictive ; yet this would hardly justify the 
conduct of those senators who prevented an election 
The probable causes of the defeat of Mr. Spencer were 
these : the Crawford men opposed him because he was 
friendly to Mr. Adams : the adherents of General Tall- 
madge imagined that he might be appointed, by joint 
resolution, in case no election was made in the cus- 
tomary manner ; a portion of the Adams men would 
not concur in anything approved by Governor Clinton ; 
and another portion, headed by Thurlow Weed, of 
Monroe county, also rejoiced at his defeat, because 
they hoped it might lead to the selection of Albert H. 
Tracy, of Buffalo. Resolutions were subsequently 
passed in the Senate, with the vote of Mr. Wright, 
nominating General Tallmadge, and Mr. Tracy : the 
House refused to concur, on the ground that that mode 
of appointment was unknown to the laws of the state ; 



CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS. 47 

but it is not unlikely that their legal scruples would 
never have been heard of, had the name of Judge 
Spencer been inserted in one of the resolutions. 

Acts like this, though unfortunately of frequent oc- 
currence in the history of all parties in tha Union, must 
certainly be regretted. They may admit of palliation, 
but not of defence. In the fierce contests of opposing 
interests, and the rivalries among ambitious politicians, 
such evasions of the law will sometimes take place, but 
they should not be held up as worthy of imitation. Surely, 
no one would have more deeply lamented any such at- 
tempt, than Mr. Wright. At the time, he and his friends 
insisted that a majority of the people were opposed to 
the appointment of Judge Spencer. The result of the 
fall election showed that this was the case ; and it 
is some little gratification to know, that the electors of 
the state ratified, in the end, the conduct of their sen- 
ators in 1825. 

At the session of 1826, Nathan Sanford, then chan- 
cellor of the state, and a prominent member of the 
Bucktail party, was almost unanimously appointed to 
succeed Mr. Kinor in the United States Senate. At 
this session, also, resolutions amending the constitution, 
by extending the right of suffrage, and giving the elec- 
tion of justices of the peace to the people, were adopted 
by large majorities in both Houses. These salutary 
reforms received the approbation of JMr. Wright. 

In the fall of this year, for the first time, conventions 
were held by the two parties, for the nomination of 
candidates for governor and lieutenant-governor. The 
friends of Mr. Van Buren, of whom it is unnecessary 
to say that Mr. "Wright was among the foremost, were 
already prepared to unite with Mr. Clinton in the 
support of General Jackson ; but they did not think it 



48 ELECTED TO CONGRESS. 

advisable that the state election should be conducted 
with any particular reference to the presidential ques- 
tion. The nominations of the Herkimer convention 
were supported by them, in good faith, though Judge 
Rochester, the candidate for governor, vras known to 
be an Adams man. A portion of the Crawford men, 
however, in the city of New York, and in the adjacent 
counties, came out in favor of Mr. Clinton, who was 
nominated for re-election, and Mr. Pitcher, the nominee 
of the Bucktail convention for lieutenant-governor. 
This movement, in connection with the subject of a 
state road, which had long been agitated in the south- 
western tier of counties, and had been approved by those 
gentlemen, secured their election. The Bucktail party 
succeeded in electing a large majority of the members of 
Assembly, and carried seven of the eight senate districts. 
The signal ability with which Mr. Wright had filled 
the office of senator, led to his nomination in 1826, as 
one of the representatives in Congress from the double 
district composed of the counties of Jefferson, Lewis, 
Oswego, and St. Lawrence. His associate on the 
ticket was Rudolph Bunner. The canvass was active 
and spirited beyond all precedent. This was the first 
occasion on which one of " the seventeen" had pre- 
sented himself before the people as a candidate for office, 
and a powerful attempt was made to defeat him. The 
scenes of 1824 were yet fresh in the minds of the 
electors ; but it speaks volumes in favor of Mr. Wright's 
popularity, and of the general appreciation of his worth 
and integrity, that he was elected over his competitor 
by a majority of more than five hundred votes. The 
candidates supported by the Clintonians, in opposition 
to Messrs. Wright and Bunner, were Nicoll Fosdick 
and Elisha Camp. 



CHAPTER III. 

IB27. — Takes his Seat as a Member of Congress — Opposition to Mr. 
Adams' Administration on the part of Mr. Van Buren and his Friends 
— The Tariff Question — The Harrisburcr Convention — Its Bearinor on 
the Presidential Election — Movements of the Administration — Nomi- 
nation of General Jackson for the Presidency in the State of New 
York — Defeat of the Adams Men — The Twentieth Conrrress — Prom- 
inent Members— Election of Speaker — Mr. Wright Appointed a Mem- 
ber of the Committee on T^Ianufactures — Feeling in Favor of a Pro- 
tective Tariff — Action of the Committee — Resolutions of the New 
York Legislature— Report of the Committee — Debate in the House — 
Opposition to the Tariff Bill — Its Defence by Mr. Wright — Amended 
and Passed — Speech of Mr. Wright in Reply to Mr. Barnard — Pro- 
ceedings on the Bill in the Senate — Its Final Passage — Objects of the 
Act of 1828 — Approved by Mr. Wright — Subsequent Change in his 
Opinions — His Declarations to that Effect in the Senate of the United 
States- --Re-nomination and Election — Informahty in the Returns — 
The Cerificate delivered to his Opponent — Second Session of the 
Twentieth Congress — Attempt to Repeal the Tariff Act — Slavery in 
the District of Columbia — Mr. Wright Appointed Comptroller of the 
State of New York.— 1829. 

The term of office of Mr. Wright as a member of 
the 20th Congress, commenced on the 4th of March, 
1827, and he accordingly resigned his seat in the slate 
Senate. His loss was severely felt in that body. His 
plain but convincing arguments, his apt illustrations, 
his lucid expositions of the tendency of every measure 
brought up for consideration, and his never-tiring hbors 
in the committee-room, not less than his frank and 
manly deportment, and his estimable qualities as a 
friend and companion, were long missed by those who 

3 



50 OPPOSITION TO MR. ADAMS. 

had admired and esteemed him. He took his seat in 
the House of Representatives, at the commencement 
of the session in December, 1827. Previous to that 
time, however, events had transpired to which it will 
be both proper and necessary to refer, before alluding 
to the course pursued by Mr. Wright in the new posi- 
tion he had been called upon to fill. 

The strong federal and consolidation doctrines put 
forth by Mr. Adams in his inaugural address, were far 
from being palatable to the friends of General Jackson, 
Mr. Crawford, and Mr. Calhoun. Murmurs of discon- 
tent were heard soon after the commencement of his 
administration, but no serious attempt was made to or- 
ganize a party in opposition. His favorite measure, the 
Panama mission, widened the breach ; and the manner 
in which the committees of the 19th Congress were ar- 
ranged by his friend, John W. Taylor, of New York, 
the speaker of the House, indicated no disposition to 
conciliate those politicians who had opposed his eleva- 
tion to the presidency, but rather afforded the evidence 
of an intention to exert the official patronage in behalf 
of his re-election. Earty in the winter session of the 
New York Legislature, in 1827, an attempt was made 
by theClintonian Adams-men to secure the election of 
Stephen Van Rensselaer to the United States Senate, 
in the place of Martin Van Buren. But two Adams 
men belonging to the Bucktail party could be prevailed 
upon to attend the caucus ; and on the 6th of February 
Mr. Van Buren was re-elected by a large majority ; he 
having received the votes of Messrs. Colden, Bogardus, 
and Viele, of the Senate, and those of several members 
of the lower House, who were the most zealous and 
devoted friends of Governor Clinton. The letter of 
Mr. Van Buren in reply to the official notification of 



THE TARIFF QUESTION. 51 

his appointment, intimated a determination on his part 
to oppose the administration ; Mr. Calhoun and the 
leading politicians at the South, with the exception of 
Mr. Clay, had taken a decided stand against it ; General 
Jackson was the only prominent candidate for the next 
presidency, besides the then incumbent of the office ; 
and when it became apparent that a coalition was about 
to be formed for the purpose of promoting his election 
between the leaders of the two great parties in the 
powerful state of New York, the friends of Mr. Adams 
began to be seriously alarmed. 

No fears were entertained that the eastern states 
would desert the administration ; but it was equally 
certain that those at the south and south-west would 
be opposed ; and therefore the middle and western 
states must be the battle-ground of the presidential con- 
test in 1828. The great and controlling interest at the 
North and West was that of the tariff; but divisions had 
sprung up among the advocates of a protective system 
of duties, which were daily growing more marked and 
serious. The commercial, ship-building, and manufac- 
turing interests of the East, though advocating a high 
tariff where they would be benefited, were hostile to 
the protection demanded by the producers of wool, 
hemp, corn, and rye, in the middle and western states, 
and the iron manufacturers in Pennsylvania. The act 
of 1824 was designed to favor the latter, and hence it 
encountered the opposition of the eastern members of 
Congress. New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Ken- 
tucky, alone gave seventy-five votes for the bill, in the 
House of Representatives ; whilst Maine, New Hamp- 
shire, and Massachusetts, gave but a single vote each 
in its favor. At the session of 1826-27, an act was 
passed, known as '* The Woollens Bill," in the House of 



52 HARRISBURG CONVENTION. 

Representatives, v^^hich w^as intended to satisfy both 
the wool-growers and manufacturers ; but neither par- 
ty approved of its provisions. The project of calHng 
a convention of the friends of a protective tariff, to 
be held at Harrisburg, in Pennsylvania, was then en- 
couraged by the administration, and received the gen- 
eral assent of all classes and parties in the northern and 
western states. The convention met on the 30th of 
July following, and was numerously attended. An 
elaborate report in favor of the protective system was 
made, and a tariff of high duties, which met the appro- 
bation of the manufacturers, though not entirely satis- 
factory to the agriculturists, was presented and adopted. 
It was thought by the friends of Mr. Adams, that if the 
supporters of General Jackson in the tariff states op- 
posed this measure, his defeat w^ould be certain ; and, 
on the other hand, if they came out in its favor, a 
breach would be made between his northern and 
southern adherents, that could not be healed. 

Prior to the adjournment of Congress in the spring 
of 1827, a caucus was held by the Adams' men at 
Washington, in which John W. Taylor, Henry C. 
Martindale, and James Strong, of the New York dele- 
gation, were appointed as a sort of executive or vigilance 
committee for that state. The administration were 
sanguine of success on the national issue, and it was 
declared in the columns of the New York American, 
then in the interest of Mr. Adams, prior to the fall 
election in the state of New York, that " the choice of 
members of the Legislature should be made with dis- 
tinct reference to the presidential question." On the 
26th of September, the general republican committee 
of the city of New York adopted a series of resolutions 
to the same purport, but announcing their intention to 



MEETING OF CONGRESS. 63 

sustain General Jackson. This decisive movement 
was made, it is said, under the advice of Governor 
Clinton and Mr. Van Bureo. All the prominent Buck- 
tail journals in the state took ground at once in its de- 
fence and support. The Adams men were not wholly 
unprepared for this unmasking of the enemy's batteries, 
but the denouement was more sudden than they antici- 
pated. The election came on before they had time 
completely to rally their scattered forces, and the new 
Jackson party obtained a complete triumph ; electing 
nearly all the senators, and three-fourths of the members 
of Assembly. The majorities in some of the counties 
were very large, and particularly in those in which Mr. 
Taylor and Mr. Martirdale resided. 

Such was the condition of political aifairs when Mr. 
Wright took his seat in the 20th Congress, as the lead- 
ing republican member from New York. Among his 
colleagues and associates in that body, were some of the 
most talented and distinguished citizens in the Union. 
On the side of the administration, there were John 
Davis, Isaac C. Bates, John W. Taylor, Dudley Mar- 
vin, Daniel D. Barnard, Henry R. Storrs, and Elisha 
Whittlesey. The most prominent Jackson members 
were John Randolph, George McDuffie, Wm. C. Rives, 
Churchill C. Cambreleng, Andrew Stevenson, Edward 
Livingston, James K. Polk, John Bell, James Buchanan, 
Ralph I. Ingersoll, and Gulian C. Verplanck. Amidst 
such an array of intellectual strength, it required a mind 
of more than ordinary capacity, to take, or maintain, a 
position above mediocrity. But true genius, if it have 
the opportunity, is sure to find its proper level, and the 
sequel will show that Mr. Wright soon gained a place 
in the foremost rank. 

At the election of speaker of the House, the party 



54 ELECTION OF SPEAKER. 

lines were drawn between the administration and the 
opposition. On the first ballot, Mr. Stevenson received 
104 votes, to 94 for Mr. Taylor, the Adams candidate. 
This was claimed as a test vote by the republican 
journals, and admitted to be such on the other side. 
Every administration member, with the exception of a 
few anti-tariff Virginians, who scattered their votes, 
supported Mr. Taylor. Mr. Wright, with seventeen 
of the other members from New York, voted for Mr. 
Stevenson. The appointment of the committees, there- 
fore, was in the hands of the opposition, and Mr. Wright 
was placed upon that on manufactures, of which Mr. 
Mallary, of Vermont, was chairman. Upon this com- 
mittee devolved the most important business of the 
session. Every eye was turned towards it. The whole 
North and West, save in a few isolated cases, which 
hardly constituted an exception to the general rule, 
were avowedly in favor of a tariff for protection. This 
was neither concealed nor disguised. There could 
have been no other object in asking the imposition of 
higher duties. The treasury was abundantly supplied ; 
the pubhc debt was almost liquidated ; and no necessity 
existed for an increase of revenue. This question, in 
itself, had become one of vast importance ; but there 
were still more momentous considerations connected 
with it, in the estimation of the politician — for, upon its 
decision, the issue of the presidential election must 
depend. The votes of the southern states, except those 
of Maryland and Delaware, were irreparably lost to 
Mr. Adams. But the tariff strength was sufficient to 
re-elect him, provided it could be united — if it remained 
divided, he could not succeed. 

The proceedings of the Harrisburg convention, and 
the various propositions for the amendment of the tariff 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMITTEE. 55 

laws, were laid before the committee on manufactures, 
at an early day. Mr. Wright, and a majority of his 
associates, soon came to the conclusion that they re- 
quired more information upon certain points, than was 
in possession of the committee. It had been alleged, 
that the bill passed at the previous session favored the 
manufacturer, at the expense of the wool-grower ; and 
they desired to ascertain what degree of protection 
would aftbrd the former a fair remunerating profit. 
Apphcation was accordingly made to the House, on the 
31st of December, for leave to send for persons and 
papers. The motion was resisted by a portion of the 
Adams men, and was advocated by Mr. Wright, who 
frankly stated his inability to prepare a bill that would 
be satisfactory, with the light he had ; but if the House 
directed a report, without waiting for further informa- 
tion, he was prepared to obey their commands. The 
resolution granting leave was amended, so as to require 
the committee to report the minutes of their examina- 
tions, and in that shape it passed the House by the 
votes of the republican members. The delay rendered 
necessary in order to procure the attendance of wit- 
nesses, and take their testimony, was attempted to be 
turned to advantage by the friends of the administra- 
tion ; and it was asserted in the New York Commercial 
Advertiser, that the committee were opposed to pro- 
tective duties ; that they would not meet, and sought 
delay. The chairman of the committee, himself an 
Adams man, corrected these impressions, by stating 
before the House that they had met thirteen times 
within the month following their appointment, and that 
the members were more punctual in their attendance 
than those of any other committee. 

While the subject was still pending before the com- 



56 N'EW-YORi: RESOLUTIONS. 

mittee, the New York Legislature assembled for its 
winter session. On the 30th of January, 1828, the fol- 
lowing resolutions were introduced in the Assembly, by 
a member from one of the counties in Mr. Wright's 
congressional district, and passed that body by a vote 
of ninetv-seven to three : — 

" Resolved, (if the Senate concur herein,) That the 
senators of this state in the Congress of the United 
States be, and they are hereby instructed, and the rep- 
resentatives of this state are requested, to make every 
proper exertion to effect such a revision of the tarilf as 
will afford a sufficient protection to the growers of 
wool, hemp, and flax, and the manufacturers of iron, 
woollens, and every other article, so far as the same 
may be connected with the interests of manufactures, 
agriculture, and commerce. 

" Resolved, (as the sense of this Legislature,) That the 
provisions of the woollens bill which passed the House 
of Representatives, at the last session of Congi'ess, 
whatever advantages they may have promised the 
manufacturer of woollens, did not afford adequate en- 
couragement to the agriculturist and growers of wool." 

The first resolution passed the Senate of the state, 
on the 31st of January, without a dissenting voice ; on 
the second, the vote stood twenty-seven to three. By 
a singular coincidence, v/hich, whether designed or 
otherwise, was not without its effect in other tariff 
states, General Jackson was nominated at a caucus of 
the republican members of the Legislature, held on the 
evening of the same day, as their candidate for Pres- 
ident. 

Upon a comparison of views in the committee on 
manufactures of the House of Representatives, it w^as 
ascertained that they would not be able to make a 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE. 57 

unanimous report. Mr. Wright, and a majority of the 
committee, were in favor of adhering, very nearly, to 
the tariff of rates proposed by the Harrisburg conven- 
tion, in regard to wool in its raw state ; but they 
wished to make the duties on the manufactured article, 
and especially the finer qualities, considerably less than 
had been recommended. Mr. Mallary, who expressed, 
more authoritatively, the sentiments of the manufac- 
turers, thought a bill formed on such a basis, would 
afford little or no protection to the woollen interest, 
and desired to reduce the duty on the raw material, 
and increase it on woollen goods. Such being the 
opinions of the chairman, Mr. Wright was selected to 
draw up the report. Taking the testimony of the per- 
sons engaged in manufactures, who had been examined 
before the committee, as his guide, the report was pre- 
pared, and the details of the accompanying bill per- 
fected. This duty was discharged with so much 
fidelity and ability, that Mr. Mallary availed himself 
of an opportunity presented in the progress of the de- 
bate on the bill, to say, that " as a statement of the 
proceedings of the committee in the performance of 
a most laborious duty, the report met his approbation ; 
and, as an argument in favor of the provisions of the 
bill, he saw nothing in it unfair or uncandid." 

The report of the committee, and the bill which ac- 
companied it, were presented to the House by Mr. 
Wright, on the 31st of January, 1828. The principal 
articles upon which higher duties were imposed by the 
provisions of this bill, were iron, wool, hemp, flax, mo- 
lasses, spirits, glass, and cotton and woollen goods. 
The debate that ensued on the merits of the question, 
was ably conducted, and possessed an unusual degree 
of interest. The main issue to be determined, was 

3# 



58 SPEECH OF MR. WRIGHT. 

that between the wool-growers and the manufacturers. 
The eastern members declared that the bill would ruin 
the latter class, and insisted that adequate protection 
must be shown to them, though corresponding duties 
could not be laid for the benefit of the producer. The 
bill as reported imposed a specific duty of seven cents 
per pound, on wool costing eight cents or less, and 
forty per cent, ad valorem, to be increased annually 
five per cent., until it amounted to fii'ty per cent. Mr. 
Mallary proposed to strike out the whole specific, and 
retaia the ad valorem diitv, which would then be 
merely nominal ; and to increase the duty on manu- 
factured goods. His views were enforced by himself, 
and by Messrs. Storrs, Davis, and Barnard, in several 
speeches of great merit and power. The defence of 
the bill necessarily devolved upon Mr. Wright. On 
the 6th and 19th of March, he spoke at length in sup- 
port of the views presented in the report. The subject 
was an abstruse one, but he handled it with clearness 
and force. His speech imbodied the facts elicited on 
the examinations before the committee ; it was elabo- 
rate, argumentative, and logical ; and attracted attention 
throughout the state and nation. 

The Harrisburg scheme, the leading features of 
which were advocated by Mr. Mallary, and other 
Adams members, was voted down — there beins: but 
eighty votes in its favor, to one hundred and fifteen op- 
posed. Mr. Sutherland then offered a medium propo- 
sition, reducing the specific duty on w^ool to four and a 
half cents, subsequently modified to four cents, and in- 
creasing the duty on manufactured woollens, the value 
of which was under fifty cents per square yard, from 
sixteen cents, as proposed by the committee, to twenty 
cents, the rate fixed by the Harrisburg convention. 



OPPOSITION TO THE BILL. 59 

This proposition retained the minimum principle in 
part, for which the manufacturers contended so ear- 
nestly, and was adopted by a vote of one hundred and 
eighty-three to seventeen — Mr. Wright voting in favor 
of the amendment. But there were other features of 
the bill equally objectionable to the eastern members. 
The increased duties on hemp and flax, designed to 
encourage the production in Kentucky and other west- 
ern states, did not meet with the approbation of those 
who represented the ship-building interests ; and the 
friends of commerce were dissatisfied with the provis- 
ions in re2:ard to manufactures of iron and other arti- 
cles, of which large quantities were imported. The 
additional duty on spirits was also opposed ; and that 
on molasses, without allowing a drawback on the ex- 
portation of spirits distilled therefrom, was resisted 
with much warmth. The two last mentioned provis- 
ions were successfully defended by Mr. Wright and 
Mr. Buchanan, who contended that every gallon of 
New England rum took the place of one bushel of 
corn or rye, and that every cent laid on molasses, ope- 
rated to give the farmer two or three cents a bushel on 
his grain. 

The bill was ordered to a third reading on the 15th 
of April. The fate which awaited it had been for 
some time in doubt, and the friends of the administra- 
tion appeared undecided as to what course they should 
pursue. If the bill passed, the dominant party in the 
House were sure to reap the advantage. At one time, 
it was asserted that " all the views and votes of Mr. 
Wright were supported by the southern members," and 
at another, the bill was declared to be worse and more 
objectionable than the act of 1824. But the Adams 
men from the middle states, were unwiiUng to disre- 



60 PASSAGE IX THE HOUSE. 

gard the wishes of their constituents, though disap- 
proving of some of the provisions of the bill ; and the 
friends of Mr. Clav from the West, were determined 
to support it. The vote on its final passage was one 
hundred and five to ninety-four. Of the New England 
delegation, fifteen voted in favor of the bill, Mr. Mai- 
lary among the number, and twenty-eight against it 
The members from the middle states stood fifty-six to 
eleven. There were thirty-three of the New York 
delegation present, twenty-seven of whom voted for 
the bill ; those who opposed it v^'ere Messrs. Cambre- 
leng, Hallock, Johnson, Oakley, Verplanck, and Ward 
With a single exception, all the western members, in 
eluding those from Kentucky, supported the bill. But 
three representatives from the southern states voted 
with the majority. 

Besides the principal speech made by Mr. Wright, 
he addressed the House several times during the prog- 
ress of the debate, in answer to different speakers. In 
the course of the discussion, while in committee, Mr. 
Barnard advocated a protective dutv to favor the man- 
ufacturer, amounting to a monopoly, and made use of 
some remarks in reference to the arguments of Mr. 
Wright, which drew from him a most pertinent and 
effective reply. The following is an extract from his 
speech on that occasion : — 

" But, Mr. Chairman, are we to enter upon this doc- 
trine of monopoly ? Am I to agree, that this is the only 
and correct stopping point in the protective system ? 
I had supposed, that when I put the American manu- 
facturer upon a par with the foreigner, and not only so, 
but left against the foreigner the Avhole of the expense 
and charges of bringing his goods to onr markets, I had 
granted a fair protection to our manufacturer, but not 



REPLY TO MR. BARNARD. 61 

that I had thereby granted to him a monopoly. Such 
protection, and more, is furnished by the bill as reported 
by the committee. But, sir, it is not monopoly ; and 
hence denunciations against that bill. Hence, too, 1 
suppose, the arguments of the gentleman Irom Vermont 
(Mr. Mallary) have been heard against the proposition 
of the member from Pennsylvania, (Mr. Buchanan,) be- 
cause that proposition will not effect the desired mo- 
nopoly. 

" I must here be permitted, Mr. Chairman, to correct 
a misrepresentation of one of my own arguments used 
upon a former occasion. I was represented by my 
colleague (Mr. Barnard) as having urged the protection 
of the native wool of this country, in preference to, if 
not to the exclusion of, other kinds and qualities of wool. 
Sir, I used no such argument. The bill makes no such 
provision ; nor has any such distinction been suggested 
by me. But the terms, and language of my colleague, 
in making this representation, deserve a moment's no- 
tice. After he had given this turn to my argument, 
he informed the House that I was a lawver ; and then 
appealed to me in that character, and in a strain of 
eloquence, to which he was aided by a draft upon the 
poets, to inform him how far removed from the blood 
of the merino a sheep must be, to entitle it to protection 
upon my principles. When at home, sir, I bear the 
appellation of a lawyer ; and whethen my colleague in- 
tended to apply it to me here reproachfully, or not, I 
know not ; but I have not considered a place in that 
respectable profession disgraceful. I have already said 
that my colleague misrepresented my argument. He 
equally mistook my information. I will assure that 
honorable gentleman, that I have never inquired into 
the degrees of l!.:od of sheep or men. No part of my 



62 AMENDMENTS OF THE SENATE. 

education has led me to these inquiries. INo branch of 
the profession of the law, which I have studied, whatever 
may have been the fact with my honorable colleague, 
has furnished me wdth the information he asks. None 
of my ambition is drawn from considerations of blood, 
and it therefore never has been any part of my business 
to trace the blood of men or beasts. It never shall be 
any part of my business, sir, until that system of mo- 
nopoly is established in this country which my colleague 
so ardently wishes, and so loudly and so boldly calls for 
from this committee. When that time shall arrive, his 
blood may rate him among the monopolists. Then too, 
sir, the degrees of blood, of my kindred, of my friends, 
may determine whether they are to labor in the facto- 
ries, or to be ranked among the monopoUsts ; and then, 
if my honorable colleague will make this appeal to me, 
as to the degrees of blood of these relatives and these 
friends, it shall be my duty carefully and accurately and 
distinctly to answer him." 

When the tariff bill was presented to the Senate, 
Mr. Webster opposed the duties on hemp, flax, mo- 
lasses, distilled spirits, and other articles ; and it was 
ascertained that the bill could not pass, until it was 
made acceptable to the administration senators from 
New England. It was accordingly modified, and 
passed the Senate on the 13th of May, by a vote of 
twenty-six to twenty-one ; Mr. Webster voting in its 
favor. The House concurred in the amendments, and 
it became the law of the land. 

The act of 1828 has been often referred to, in our 
lemslative halls and Dolitical assemblao-es, as " the bill 
of abominations." The term was not altogether inap- 
propriate ; as the authors of the measure themselves 
subsecjuently admitted. The tariff of duties established 



CHANGE OF OPINION. 63 

by the law was exorbitant. The act of 1824 averaged 
thirty-eight per cent., but the former averaged over forty- 
one per cent. But it was notoriously intended for pro- 
tection, without even discriminating for the sake of reve- 
nue, because that was unnecessary. The object of the 
bill was not disguised. Mr. Wright stated it distinctly. 
He was in favor of its principles ; and never sheltered 
himself behind the instructions of the Legislature. 
There were scarcely two opinions upon the subject in 
the state of New York, out of the city and its vicinity ; 
but he did not ask, or desire, any part or portion of his 
constituents to assume the responsibility of his vote. 
Political considerations may have been connected with 
the passage of the bill ; yet they did not influence his 
action, for his support of the measure was cordial and 
voluntary. At the time, it received his approbation, 
and he voted in accordance with the dictates of his 
judgment. But, short as was his Hfe, he lived long 
enough to regret that vote, and to express his regret, 
not privately to a few confidential friends, that it might 
be whispered about in his praise, in particular localities 
of the country ; it was done manfully and openly, upon 
the great theatre of his usefulness and fame. It is to 
acts like this, that we may point for the exhibition of a 
true magnanimity — that magnanimity which does not 
consist in never changing, but in being willing to re- 
nounce an error ; which is not made up of professions 
of consistency, but is tempered and subdued by the 
frankness that conceals nothing from those who have 
the right to know. 

In the Senate of the United States, during the dis- 
cussion on the compromise act, Mr. Wright avowed 
different sentiments from those he had previously enter- 



64 REMARKS IN THE SENATE. 

tained ;* and on the memorable passage of the tariff law 
of 1842, he referred, in more explicit terms, to his vote 
in 1828. In announcing the conclusion of his mind, 
slowly and reluctantly formed, to support the measure 
then under consideration, he said : " His first service in 
Congress was as a member of the committee on manu- 
factures of the House of Representatives, during the 
session of 1827 and 1828, when he assisted to form, 
and voted for, the tariff bill of 1828, which has been so 
extensively denominated ' the bill of abominations.' He 
was then wholly without experience in legislation of 
this class and character ; but his experience from that 
action had taught him the truth of the adage, that 
' mens' evil deeds follow them.' He became very soon 
convinced that he had committed a great error upon 
that occasion, and it was possible he was about to com- 
mit another as great now. It grieved him to know and 
feel, that many friends within the reach of his voice, 
whose'] udgment he most highly respected, and whose 
good opinions were most valuable to him, would so look 
upon his present vote. He could not. The occasions 
appeared to him to be wholly dissimilar. The tariff of 
1828 was avowedly passed for protection; and if con- 
siderations of revenue had any connection with it, they 
w^ere only incidental to the main object of protection. 
There was no complaint of want at the treasury ; no 
alleged necessity for increased revenues ; and no blemish 
upon the public credit, so far as his recollection served 
him." 

Besides the tariff bill, there were few questions of 
special moment determined at the first session of the 
20th Congress. On the 1 0th of May, a bill was passed 
for the relief of revolutionary officers and soldiers, which 

♦ Niles' Register, Vol. XLIV. p. 24. 



RE-ELECTED TO CONGRESS. 65 

received the vote of Mr. Wright. The internal im- 
provement bill also obtained his approbation and support. 
In the fall of 1828, IMr. Wright was re-nominated, 
with OTeat unanimity, by the congressional convention 
held in his district. He was also a delegate from the 
county of St. Lawrence to the democratic state con- 
vention, at which Martin Van Buren was nominated 
ibr governor, and Enos T. Throop for lieutenant-gover- 
noi*. The excitement in the state of New York, which 
had grown out of the abduction of William Morgan by 
a number of persons connected with the masonic fra- 
ternity, was, at this time, at its height ; and had a com- 
plete union been formed between the national repub- 
licans, as the Adams men were termed, and the anti- 
masons, Mr. Van Buren would have been defeated. 
But there were a large number of masons in the ranks 
of the national republicans, and hence such an event 
was out of the question. The sudden death of Governor 
Clinton left him, without a rival, at the head oi the 
Jackson, or democratic party ; and i:-: whole strength 
was rallied in his support. The November election 
resulted in the general success of the democratic ticket. 
Mr. Wright encountered a violent opposition in his 
district, on the part of the national republicans and 
anti-masons, who united their forces, in many instances, 
upon the local candidates. The vote was exceedingly 
close, and for a long time the issue remained in doubt. 
Joseph Hawkins, one of the persons on the Adams 
ticket, was elected ; Mr. Wright also received a ma- 
jority of the votes, but the certificate was given to his 
opponent, George Fisher, for the reason that the word 
"junior" was omitted on several tickets evidently in- 
tended for him, and because a slight informality had 
been made in the return from one of the towns. 



66 SLAVERY IN THE DISTRICT. 

At the session of Congress commencing in December, 
1828. Mr. Wright was again appointed on the com- 
mittee on manufactures. The opponents of the tariff 
law enacted at the previous session, were not yet dis- 
posed to give up the contest; and on the 10th of De- 
cember, a resolution was offered by Mr. Weeks, of New 
Hampshire, instructing the committee on ways and 
means to bring in a bill repealing the act. The subject 
of the repeal was discussed by several speakers, and. 
on taking the question, but twenty-two members voted 
in favor of the resolution, to one hundred and fifty-one 
against it. Among the latter was Mr. Wright. This 
vote was so decisive, that no further efforts were made 
to procure the repeal at that session ; nor was any 
attempt to change or modify the law successful, until 
the passage of the act of 1832. 

On the 9th of January, 1829, two resolutions were 
adopted in the House of Representatives, providing, 
respectively, for the appointment of a committee to 
inquire into the condition of the slave trade in the dis- 
trict of Columbia, and the law^s in relation thereto ; and 
to consider and report upon the propriety and expe- 
diency of the abolition of slavery in said district. The 
vote on the first resolution was one hundred and twenty 
to fifty-nine ; on the second, one hundred and fourteen 
to sixty-six. Mr. Wright voted for the resolutions. On 
the 13th, a resolution presented by Mr. Wickliffe, of 
Kentucky, requiring all votes taken on the election of 
the officers of the House to be given viva voce, was 
laid upon the table by a vote of ninety-seven to ninety- 
two ; Mr. Wright voting in the minority. 

The election of Mr. Van Buren as governor of the 
state of New York, rendered it necessary for him to re- 
sign his seat in the Senate. His successor was Charles 



ELECTED COMPTROLLER. 67 

E. Dudley. Although not a candidate for the office, 
Mr. Wright had become so well known throughout the 
state, and had obtained so high a reputation for ability, 
that he received a number of votes in the caucus. 
But his constituents were not unmindful of one whom 
they believed had served them so faithfully and well, 
and on the 27th of January he was elected Comptroller 
of the state, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the ap- 
pointment of William L. Marcy as one of the justices 
of the supreme court. 



CHAPTER IV. 

1^29. — iMr. Wright leaves Washington, and enters upon the duties of 
the Office of Comptroller — His Skill and Ability as a Financier — 
Careful Regard for the Interests of the State— His Course as a Leg- 
islator — The Lateral Canals — Application to the Legislature — The 
Black River, Genesee Valley, and Chenango Canals— Views of Col- 
onel Young, Mr. Marcy, and the Canal Board — Sentiments of Mr. 
Wright — Opposition of his Party Friends— Justice to the Dead — Leg- 
islation in regard to the Chemung and Chenango Canals — Mr. Van 
Buren and Mr. Throop — Provisional Act to Construct the Chenango 
Canal— The Chemung and Crooked Lake Canals Authorized — Mr. 
Wright Claims his Seat in Congress — Unanimously awarded to him 
— Resignation — Message of Governor Throop— Report of Mr. Wright 
as Comptroller — Extract — Report of the Canal Commissioners in re- 
gard to the Chenango Canal— Mr. Granger— The Bill Defeated— 
General Election in 1830— Determination of the Chenango Interest 
to persevere in tVeir efforts — Legislation in 1831 and 1832— Governor 
Throop Recommends a Direct Tax— Defeat of the Bill— Re-elected 
Comptroller— The State Election in November 1832— The Georgia 
Missionaries— Letter of Messrs. Wright, Dix, and Flagg, to Gover- 
nor Lumpkin — ]\Ir. Marcy Resigns his Seat in the Senate— Election 
of Mr. Wright as his Successor. — 1833. 

While engaged in the discharge of his official duties 
at Washington, Mr. Wright received the inteUigence 
of the new honor which had been conferred upon him, 
and he immediately returned to Albany, having procured 
leave of absence for the remainder of the session. The 
office to which he had been appointed was one of great 
importance. The comptroller bears the same relation 
to the state, that the secretary of the treasury does to 
the nation. Patience, industry, promptitude, and fidel- 



\ 



THE LATERAL CANALS. 69 

ity, united to a capacity for arrangement and organi- 
zation, are the qualifications necessary in that office. 
Mr. Wright possessed these executive talents in an 
eminent degree. Exact, methodical, and business-like, 
in the performance of every duty, he found little diffi- 
culty in conducting the affairs of the department in- 
trusted to nis charge. The funds of the state were 
divided into so many classes, and the revenues dis- 
tributed among such a variety of objects, that great 
care and accuracy were required in their management. 
He proved himself equal to the task, and soon displayed 
those financial abilities which afterwards placed him in 
the front rank of American statesmen. While he 
watched with faithful care over the interests of the 
state, and examined with jealous scrutiny the accounts 
of the public creditor, he was courteous and attentive, 
kind and obliging ; though rigid on the one hand, he 
was im.partial on the other. 

Shortly after the completion of the Erie and Cham- 
plain canals, various sectional interests sprang up in 
the state of New York, having in view the construc- 
tion of lateral works of the same character. The most 
important of these were subsequently known in the 
legislation of the state, as the Black River, Genesee 
Valley, and Chenango canals. The citizens of the 
counties likely to be benefited, were warmly enlisted 
in favor of these projects. The Legislature was beset 
every winter with importunities, either to grant an ap- 
propriation to construct a work, or to provide for the 
survey of the different routes which had been sug- 
gested. Mr. Wright's views and feelings in relation 
to these questions, had been made known while he oc- 
cupied a seat in the Senate. He was ready to sup- 
port any object affording even the most distant hope 



70 INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. 

of remuneration to the state ; but no work of doubtful 
utility could receive his sanction. Appropriations for 
surveys, and for the purpose of procuring information, 
where the money voted was not to be lavishly ex- 
pended, he cheerfully supported, both for the sake of 
enlightening the minds of his constituents and of the 
people of the state at large, and to enable the Legisla- 
ture to act understandingly upon these questions. It 
was not in his nature to offer a factious opposition to 
any measure. He deliberated slowly and carefully ; 
but when he had determined in his own mind, as to 
what duty, and a regard to the welfare of his constitu- 
ents, required at his hands, his vote was given without 
hesitation. If he felt bound to oppose a proposition, 
which was warmly urged by any particular section of 
the state, or advocated by those for whose opinions he 
entertained a sincere deference and respect ; or origi- 
nating with the party to which he belonged, and with 
which it was always a pleasure for him to vote ; he 
did what he conceived to be right — firmly, it is true — 
yet with reluctance. 

At the session of the Legislature in 1825, provision 
was made for surveying several routes, along which it 
was proposed to construct the contemplated tributaries 
of the great thoroughfare between the Hudson and 
Lake Erie. Mr. Wright, with a large majority of the 
senators and members of the lower House, voted for 
these surveys. In his annual message at the com- 
mencement of the session of 1827, Governor Chnton 
urgently recommended the extinguishment of the pub- 
lic debt of the state, and insisted that " the precedent 
would be more beneficial in itself, and more animating 
in all its aspects and consequences, than any fugitive, 
or even permanent advantages, that could emanate 



OPINIONS OF THE CANAL BOARD. 71 

from another course ;" yet, at the same time, he ad- 
vised the construction of a number of new roads and 
canals, which would have increased the debt several 
millions of dollars. In accordance with the sugges- 
tions of the governor, applications were made early in 
the session, in behalf of the Black River, Genesee Val- 
ley, and Chenango canals. The counties of Broome, 
Chenango, and Madison, were deeply interested in the 
last named project; and its proposed termination at 
Utica enlisted in its favor the influence and sympathies 
of the citizens of the large and populous county of 
Oneida, then wielding, through her able and talented 
representatives in the democratic party, a great degree 
of power and control over the politics of the state. 
There being so many interests combined in support of 
this measure, it was thought advisable to make it the 
pioneer of the other lateral canals in contemplation. 
The surveys made in pursuance of the action of the 
Legislature in 1825, had demonstrated, in the opinion 
of the canal board, the inutility of undertaking the con- 
struction of those works in the existing condition of 
the treasury ; when the deficit in the revenues of the 
state was annually increasing, and provision was to be 
made for the ultimate payment of the large debt al- 
ready created. Mr. Marcy, (the comptroller,) Colonel 
Young, and a majority of the board, opposed the Che- 
nengo canal project, at that time, on the ground that 
the pubhc debt ought first to be extinguished ; and that, 
if improvements of that character were to be made, 
they should not be commenced until the surplus reve- 
nue from the canals was sufficient to furnish the means 
of discharging all the liabiHties that it would become 
necessary to incur. Mr. Wright entertained similar 
opinions with the board. 



72 JUSTICE TO THE DEAD. 

This opposition to the Chenango canal, laid the foun- 
dation of subsequent divisions in the democratic party, 
the effect of which was often visible in the state elec- 
tions. Mr. Wright himself occasionally suffered from 
its exhibition ; but it is unnecessary for the sake of his 
defence, to impute selfish, unworthy, or dishonorable 
motives, to those who differed from him in opinion. 
Whatever may have been his sentiments with regard 
to the justice or propriety of the course pursued by 
others, there was no feeling of personal bitterness or 
animosity buried in his grave. And that man would 
do injustice to his memory, who should disturb the 
ashes of the dead, to gather the materials for reviving 
past differences, or enkindling new feuds and conten- 
tions. Those vv'ho opposed his nomination, or election, 
to the high offices for which he was a candidate, will not 
do him or themselves so much wrong, as to deny that 
he was a manly and honorable opponent. This, of it- 
self, should content those who adhered to him through 
weal and through woe. To ask for more, would be to 
wound the pride and self-respect of the living, and to 
mar his character, in the judgment of posterity, with a 
stain of selfishness that was never suffered to dim its 
purity. 

The persevering and untiring efforts of the friends 
of the Chenango canal secured a favorable vote for 
their project, in the Assembly, at the legislative session 
of 1827. In the Senate, the bill met with a determined 
and effectual resistance, and failed in its passage by a 
vote of fourteen to ten. The same result was wit- 
nessed at the winter session in 1828. Bills for con- 
stiucdng the Chemung and Chenango canals, were 
passed in the Assembly, but defeated in the Senate. 
In 1829, Mr. V-r.n Buren, though understood as con- 



PROVISIONAL BILL. 73 

curring in the views of the canal board, expressed no 
definite opinion in regard to the financial policy of the 
state. Mr. Throop maintained the same cautious re- 
serve, in his farewell address to the Senate, when about 
to take his place in the executive chair, made vacant 
by the resignation of Mr. Van Buren. When Mr. 
Wright reached Albany, bills were pending before the 
Legislature in regard to those works, the construction 
of which had been pressed with so much pertinacity ; 
and it has been thought proper to present, as briefly as 
possible, a review of \^•hat had transpired in former 
years, in order to show how he became connected 
with these questions, and what was the origin of the 
hostile interests frequently opposed to him, even after 
the occasion had passed by that called them into ex- 
istence. From his position as a member of the canal 
board, his influence was necessarily felt upon all the 
measures connected with the system of internal im- 
provements of the state, which were discussed in the 
Legislature while he remained in ofiice. 

On the 24Lh of March, 1829, an act w^as finally 
passed, authorizing the construction of the Chenango 
canal, coupled, however, with the conditions, that the 
canal commissioners should not proceed with the work, 
unless they should be first satisfied that there would be 
an adequate supply of water, without using the water 
of either the Oriskany, or Sauquoit creeks ; that the 
cost should not exceed one million of dollars ; and also, 
that the canal would produce to the state, within the 
first ten years after its construction, an amount of tolls 
equal to the interest on its cost, besides repairs and 
expenses. This proviso was esteemed unnecessarily 
harsh and severe, by the friends of the project, though 
based on their own representations ; and its incorpora- 

4 



74 CLAIMS HIS SEAT IN CONGRESS. 

tion in the bill was attributed to the counsels of the 
comptroller and Colonel Young. The Chemung and 
Crooked Lane canals were also authorized to be con- 
structed at this session ; but as those works were 
esteemed more feasible, and as promising a more speedy 
return to the state, on the moneys to be invested in 
their construction, there were no conditions or limita- 
tions, to hinder or delay their completion. 

At the commencement of the session of Congress in 
December, 1829, Mr. Fisher, the candidate supported 
in opposition to Mr. Wright, at the election in 1828, 
took his seat in the House of Representatives. A pe- 
tition was immediately presented on behalf of Mr. 
Wright, setting forth the facts and circumstances under 
which the certificate had been delivered to the incum- 
bent, and claiming that the seat should be awarded to 
him. The petition was referred to the committee on 
elections, who reported a resolution giving the contested 
seat to the claimant. The resolution passed the House 
unanimously; the sitting member himself acquiescing 
in the justice of the decision. Mr. Wright then for- 
warded his letter of resignation, which was laid before 
the House on the 9th of March, 1830. 

In his annual message delivered to the two houses 
of the Legislature at the session of 1830, Governor 
Throop did not recommend any additional improve- 
ments, either by roads or canals ; but stated that, in 
his opinion, a direct tax would soon become necessary 
to defray the ordinary expenses of the government, in 
consequence of the diminution of the general fund. 
The views of the executive were founded upon the 
financial condition of the state, as made known to him 
by the comptroller. The report of that officer was 
ably drawn, and presented a clear and distinct state- 



COMPTEOLLERS REPORT. 75 

ment of the monetary concerns under his supervision 
and control. It appeared that the general fund had 
diminished, to the amount of nearly four hundred thou- 
sand dollars, within the three previous years, during 
which time no state tax had been collected ; and that a 
deficit of more than one hundred thousand dollars, be- 
yond the means of the year, existed on the 1st day of 
December, 1829, notwithstanding the sale of canal 
stock, and the other large expenditures during the year, 
to meet the demands upon the treasury. The de- 
ficit for the ensuing year was estimated at seventy-five 
thousand dollars. 

" In the estimate of receipts for the present year," 
says the report, " are included the ordinary receipts of 
principal from the general fund, amounting to $40,000, 
and also the anticipated receipts from the tax sales to 
take place in the spring, amounting to 8150,000; so 
that from neither of these sources can anything be ex- 
pected to meet the above deficiency. The receipts of 
this year will be increased at least $120,000, by the 
tax sales, beyond what they can be calculated at for 
several future years, and until another sale occurs. No 
hope, therefore, can be entertained, that the next year 
will be better able to make up for the deficiencies of 
the last, than is the present, unless new sources of in- 
come are supplied ; but, on the contrary, the certainty 
now exists, that the ordinary revenue and the ordinary 
receipts of principal from the general fund, for the next 
year, must fall short of the ordinary expenses of the 
government." 

After this positive and unequivocal statement of the 
resources and liabihties of the state, no member of the 
I>egislature could have complained that he was not 
forewarned in time to meet the emergency which was 



76 EEPORT OP CANAL COMiMISSIONERS. 

likely to arise. The reports of Mr. Wright, while he 
filled the office of comptroller, were, in like manner, 
distinguished for their plain and straightforward exhi- 
bition of the condition of the treasury. He was 'no 
alarmist, but he did not attempt to conceal anything 
that required correction. He was a faithful and accu- 
rate accountant, keeping his books posted up, and his 
balance-sheet ready to show, at any moment, the situ- 
ation of the important interests committed to his 
charge. 

The canal commissioners made their annual report 
on the 21st of January. They stated that they had 
examined, and again surveyed and explored, the pro- 
posed route of the Chenango canal, and that from the 
result of that examination they could not, consistent 
with the terms of the law, commence the construction 
of the work. They also expressed their opinion, that 
it would cost more than a million of dollars, and that 
"in regard to its revenue, it would not produce an 
amount of tolls, in connection with the increased tolls 
on the Erie canal, that w^ould be equal to the interest 
of its cost, and the expense of its repairs and superin- 
tendence, or of either of them." This portion of the 
report was attributed to Colonel Young, then one of 
the canal commissioners ; and when it was taken in 
connection with the exhibit of the financial condition 
of the state made by the comptroller, it presented a 
very strong argument against going on with the work. 
But the facts and conclusions of the state officers were 
not satisfactory to the citizens interested in the con- 
struction of the canal, though subsequent experience 
demonstrated their fidelity. A bill was introduced into 
the Assembly peremp+orily ordering the commissioners 
to commence the work without delay. The bill was 



STATE TAX. 77 

strenuously advocated by Francis Granger, a member 
of the House from Ontario county, and the candidate 
of the anti-masonic party for governor at the ensuing 
November election. The democratic members gene- 
rally opposed the bill, and it did not receive a favorable 
vote at this session. 

Mr. Wright was one of the delegates to the demo- 
cratic state convention which met in September, and 
warmly urged the nomination of Mr. Throop for the 
office of governor. The friends of General Root, in 
connection with the Chenango canal interest, endeav- 
ored to prevent this result ; but the attempt was un- 
successful. Mr. Throop was nominated and elected, 
notwithstanding a large portion of the democratic elec- 
tors residing in the Chenango valley, gave their votes 
to Mr. Granger, the opposition candidate. 

Early in the session of the Legislature, commencing 
on the 4th of January, 1831, a bill for the construction 
of the Chenango canal was introduced into the Senate. 
After considerable discussion, it was lost, by a vote of 
sixteen to fourteen. But five democratic senators 
voted in its favor. At this session Judge Marcy was 
elected to the Senate of the United States, as the suc- 
cessor of Mr. Sanford, whose term expired in March. 

The message of Governor Throop in 1832, advised 
the imposition of a state tax, in conformity with the 
recommendations of the comptroller, Mr. Wright, in 
order to supply the deficiency in the general fund. A 
bill was soon after reported in the Senate, authorizing 
a tax of one mill on the dollar, to be levied annually, 
for three years, on all real and personal property. A 
similar tax had been collected, for the same purpose, 
from 1819 to 1825, when it was reduced to one-half 
of a mill, and, in 1827, it was entirely removed. The 



78 JACKSON*S BANK VETO. 

fund immediately began to diminish, and the comptrol- 
ler was of the opinion that measures should be taken 
to arrest that diminution. His views were presented 
in his annual report with his accustomed ability. The 
governor also, who was much indebted to Mr. Wright, 
for the clearness and force with which he exhibited the 
financial condition of the state, expressed his decided 
approbation of the measure. But the friends of the 
Chenango canal would not give their assent to any 
proposition that might jeopard the success of their own 
project ; and a number of the senators were inclined 
to believe, that before the general fund could be ex- 
hausted, there would be a sufficient surplus revenue 
from the canals, after paying all the cost of construc- 
tion, to defray the ordinary expenses of the state gov- 
ernment ; which was the object had in view in the 
creation of that fund. The tax bill, therefore, failed 
to secure a majority vote in the Senate. The defi- 
ciency in the fund was afterwards made up by tempo- 
rary loans from the common school and other specific 
funds, and it was ultimately found necessary to resort 
to a direct tax. The Chenango canal bill, containing 
very severe restrictions, was passed in the Senate at 
this session, by a vote of sixteen to fifteen, but was de- 
feated in the Assembly. Mr. Wright was re-elected in 
the month of February to the office of comptroller. 
Some little opposition was manifested at one time, by 
those whose measures he considered it his duty to op- 
pose, to his remaining in the office he held ; but his 
acknowledged abilities, and his conceded fitness for the 
station, prevented any formidable effort to defeat his 
re-appointment. 

The excitement and agitation growing out of the 
veto of the bill to re-charter the Bank of the United 



STATE NOMINATIONS. 79 

States, by President Jackson, in July 1832, though al- 
most unanimously approved by the democratic party 
in the state of New York, rendered it desirable that 
unusual care should be taken in the choice of candi- 
dates for the fall election. The advocates of the Che- 
nango canal were as urgent and pertinacious in press- 
ing their claims, as ever. Mr. Granger, who was cer- 
tain to be the candidate of the opposition party, had 
been long known for the friendly interest he took in 
behalf of the work. The re-nomination of Governor 
Throop, under such circumstances, was deemed unad- 
visable ; and he addressed a letter to the state conven- 
tion which assembled at Herkimer, respectfully dechning 
a nomination. Mr. Marcy was then selected as the 
candidate for governor. The fact, that the positions he 
had occupied for several years previous, had kept him, 
in a great measure, aloof from state politics, was a 
strong argument in favor of his nomination, and the 
vote was nearly unanimous. John Trac}^ of Chenango 
county, was nominated for lieutenant-governor. Mr. 
Wright was a member of the convention from the 
county of Albany, and participated in its proceedings. 
The state nominations were entirely acceptable to the 
friends of the Chenango canal ; and they were given to 
understand, that the bill they had urged, so far in vain, 
would be favorably considered at the next session of the 
Legislature. The democratic ticket succeeded ; and in 
the winter of 1833 a bill was passed, authorizing the 
immediate construction of the canal. 

On the 18th of December, 1832, Mr. Wright, to- 
gether wdth Azariah C. Flagg, and John A. Dix, ad- 
dressed a letter to Governor Lumpkin, of Georgia, rec- 
ommending the pardon of certain missionaries among 
the Cherokee Indians, who had been convicted and 



80 ELECTED SENATOR IN CONGRESS. 

imprisoned for alleged violations of the state laws. The 
jurisdiction of Georgia had been called in question ; 
and as the controversy was likely to lead to collisions 
with the General Government, they asked the release 
of the imprisoned persons, as an act of magnanimity on 
the part of the state. Their interposition proved effec- 
tual, and the missionaries were restored to liberty. 

The election of Mr. Marcy as governor of the state 
produced a vacancy in the Senate of the United States. 
The general choice of the party centred at once on 
Mr. Wright. The friends of the Chenango canal did 
not favor his appointment, but he was elected by a 
large majority early in the session of 1833. 



CHAPTER V. 

1833. — The Anxiety of Mr. Wright's friends for his Success — Enters 
the Senate — Talent in that Body — His Course and Character as a 
Senator early formed — Mental Qualities — Condition of the Country 
— Nullification — The Force Bill — The Compromise Act — His Objec- 
tions to the Bill — Vote on its Passage — His Remarks — Mr. Clay's 
Land Bill — Distribution — The Bank of the United States— Removal 
of the Deposits — Derangement of the Currency and Pecuniary Dis- 
tress — Firmness of General Jackson — Marriage of Mr. Wright — 
Meeting of Congress — Presentation of Petitions — Resolutions of the 
New York Legislature — Speech of Mr. Wright — Regarded as the 
Organ of the Administration — Motion of Mr. Webster for leave to 
Introduce a Bill to Re-charter the Bank — Speech of Mr. Wright on 
the Motion — Resolutions of Mr, Clay Censuring the President and 
Secretary of the Treasury — Debate thereon — Defence of the Exec- 
utive by Mr. Wright — Protest of the President — Difficulty in the Post 
Office Department — Vote in the House of .Representatives on the 
Resolutions of Mr. Clay — Bill for the Improvement of the Wabash — 
Indemnity for French Spoliations prior to 1890 — Invitation to a Pub- 
lic Dinner at Albany — 111 Health — Executive Patronage — Regula- 
tion of the Deposits — Appropriation Bills — Anticipated Rupture with 
France— The Fortification Bill— Mr. Wright's Speech.— 1835. 

At the time Mr. Wright took his seat in the Senate, 
there were those who distrusted his abiHties ; who 
feared that he would be unable to maintain his own rep- 
utation, and the high character of the state he repre- 
sented, in the fierce intellectual contests v/hich must 
inevitably take place. They did not stop to consider 
how often it is, that " honor pauseth in the meanest 
habit ;" they did not appreciate, at its proper value, the 

strong and powerful genius concealed beneath his plain 

4# 



82 ENTERS THE SENATE. 

and unassuming manner; and they trembled for the 
senator, still young in years, as he crossed the threshold 
of the chamber where the sages and statesmen of the 
past had so often assembled in council, and enrolled his 
name as a member of the ablest body in the nation — 
perhaps in the world. But those w4io knew him inti- 
mately and well, had no fears or apprehensions. They 
had caught some glimpses of the sterling metal in his 
composition, and they were w^illing that it should be 
submitted to the ordeal, satisfied in their own minds 
that, like the gold of the refiner, it could but come the 
purer from the trial. They were anxious, very anxious ; 
but they doubted not. Remembering that 

" Peace hath her victoriefi, 
No less renowned than war," 

they were content to see him enter the arena, in the 
full confidence that he would gather new laurels to 
adorn his brows, and confer new honor upon those who 
had promised so much in his behalf. 

It was, indeed, a critical time in his history. There 
were hosts of friends to cheer and encourage him ; he 
was the representative of one of the largest and most 
important members of the confederacy ; it was con- 
ceded that he possessed talents of a high order ; but 
his character as a statesman was yet to be formed. 
Everything was expected from him, and those expec- 
tations must not be disappointed. There was a great 
deal in the past to incite him to renewed exertion, and, 
like Alexander on the shores of the Hellespont, before 
him lay " Hope and the world !" Had he faltered then 
— had he hesitated but for one moment — who can say 
what his destiny might have been ? The country was 
agitated from one extremity to the other. The best 



AMERICAN STATESMEN. 83 

talent in the land was collected in the Senate. Op- 
posed to the administration he would be called upon to 
sustain, at the head of his compeers, stood the gallant 
and chivalrous Clay — captivating the heart, and enchain- 
ing the imagination, by the magic bursts of his thrilling 
eloquence ; Calhoun, the fearless champion of the 
sovereii^ntv of the states, with his chaste diction, and 
analytical mind — every sentence that he uttered a 
whole chapter of argument, and every word a political 
text ; Webster, calm, profound, and argumentative — 
powerful in stature, and gigantic in mind ; the smooth 
and plausible Clayton ; and Preston, fervid and impas- 
sioned, as the rays of the southern sun vvhich had 
warmed his genius into life. On the opposite side, there 
was Benton, industrious, determined, and unyielding — 
with his pockets overflowing with statistics, and his 
head full of historical lore ; Forsyth, easy and graceful 
in his address, but an able and experienced debater ; 
Rives, the eloquent and talented senator from the Old 
Dominion, seeking to give vent to the inspiration he 
had caught in the otovcs of Monti cello ; White, with 
his metaphysical and sententious apothegms ; and the 
shrewd and cautious Grundy, familiar with parliamen- 
tary tactics, watching for the weak points in his adver- 
sary's argument, and never caring to conceal his 
gratification when he saw the fabric, reared with so 
much labor, toppling down in the dust. 

Such were the statesmen among whom Mr. Wright 
had taken a place, and against and with whom he was 
obliged to compete for the brilliant honors he acquired 
in his senatorial career. At the outset, the course was 
marked out which he subsequently pursued. Courteous 
and affable— dignified and respectful— he never suffered 
himself, in the midst of the stormiest debate, to forget 



84 COURSE AND CHARACTER. 

the character he had assumed. Cool, thoughtful, and 
deliberative, every word was weighed before he gave it 
utterance, and not one of his opponents ever obtained 
an advantage that he voluntarily surrendered. There 
were none of those impulsive features in his character, 
which would have induced him to dash heedlessly for- 
ward, in the hope of outstripping every competitor at 
the start ; and, if he failed, to console himself with the 
reflection that he had dared something beyond the 
power of human skill to accomplish.* His advances 
were slow and steady, but sure. He did not thrust 
himself forward. He did not assume too much. Not 
even when the bold and independent Jackson was 
willing to lean upon him for support, and he became 
known as the confidential friend of Mr. Van Buren, 
was there anything like assumption, or dictatorial 
harshness, in his tone or manner. The efibrts of his 
discriminating and logical mind were directed to the 
enforcement of the positions he laid down, and the 
principles he advocated, for the sake of the argument ; 
for the sake of what he believed to be just and right ; 
and not to compel those who listened to adopt the con- 
clusions at which he had arrived. If successful, he 
never advanced too hastily, but was content to wait 
until he had secured what was gained. He did not 
peril everything by attempting to grasp more than could 
be reached. And when he was defeated, when dark 
and portentous clouds hung around the political horizon, 
and the omens for the future were fearful and threaten- 
ing, he did not lose his confidence in the ultimate 
triumph of the truths he labored to establish ; but he 
calmly seated himself down, prepared patiently to bide 

* " Magnis tamen excidit ausis," was the consolation of the unfor- 
tunate Phaeton. 



NULLIFICATION. 85 

his time, " with his feet to the foe," and his breast 
bared for the shock, ready alike to resist an attack, or 
to advance and secure the victory. 

Mr. Wright entered the Senate as a member of that 
body on the 14th of January, 1833. The second ses- 
sion of the 22nd Congress, though short, was a memo- 
rable one. The internal improvement question had 
been settled for the time, by the Maysville veto ; the 
difficulties with the Creek and Cherokee Indians were 
temporarily laid aside ; and the excitement growing 
out of the refusal of the President to affix his name to 
the bill providing for the re- charter of the Bank of the 
United States, had partially subsided. But a still more 
important subject was now agitated — the dissolution of 
the American Confederacy. The inconsiderable re- 
duction made in the tariff act of 1832, which had been 
designed to modify the objectionable features of the law 
of 1828 — and, especially, the continuance of the high 
protective duties on the protected articles, and the ad- 
mission, duty free, of those consumed by the manufac- 
turers — were regarded in the southern states as tam- 
pering with their rights, as independent parties to the 
original compact between the members of the Union. 
The state of South Carolina assumed an attitude of 
hostility to the General Government, and declared that 
the revenue laws should not be enforced within her 
borders. On the 11th of December, 1832, the Presi- 
dent issued his celebrated proclamation, which elicited 
such a general feeling of approbation at the A^orth, and 
caused every heart to beat high with patriotic hope 
and devotion, as the sentiment was repeated, " The 
Union, it must be preserved !" 

On the 16th of January, 1833, the nullification mes- 
sage of General Jackson was communicated to Con- 



86 THE COMPROMISE ACT. 

gress, and on the 18th of February following, Mr. 
Wright was called upon to give his vote for the " force 
bill," as it was termed, intended to secure the prompt 
collection of the revenue in the state of South Caro- 
lina. The bill passed the Senate by the decisive vote 
of thirty-two to eight. In the meantime, a tariff biil 
had been prepared by Mr. Clay and others, called 
" The Compromise Act," and presented to the Senate. 
This act surrendered the protective principle, and es- 
tablished the ad valorem : a gradual reduction of the 
duties on all protected articles was also to be made, 
until the 30th of June, 1842, when no duty was to be 
imposed above twenty per cent. The general object 
of the bill was approved by Mr. Wright, but he was 
opposed to certain of its features, and endeavored to 
procure its amendment. On the 22nd of February, he 
voted to strike out the clause requiring a home valua- 
tion, believing that it would be impossible ever to estab- 
lish such a system ; that it would be constantly fluctu- 
ating, and could never be relied upon. The act of 
1832 had reduced the duty on coarse v/ool, in accord- 
ance with the wishes of the manufacturers, and he 
made an unsuccessful attempt to restore it. Mr. Dal- 
las moved to strike out the "revenue feature" of Mr. 
Clay's bill, declaring that after the minimum standard 
of duties had been reached, no more revenue should 
be collected than was " necessary to an economical 
administration of the government." The vote on the 
motion was fourteen in favor, to twenty-two against it. 
Mr. Wright, with Mr. Benton and Mr. Webster, sup- 
ported the motion ; and it was opposed by Messrs. 
Clay, Calhoun, Forsyth, and Rives. Mr. Wright like- 
wise disapproved of the abolition of all specific and dis- 
criminating duties, and predicted the very evils from 



OBJECTIONS TO THE BILL. 87 

the adoption of the measure, which were witnessed in 
1842, and which Jed to the passage of a law completely 
at variance with the compromise act, and that, too, in 
those features that he had opposed. Having attempted, 
in vain, to make the bill conform to his views, he gave 
his vote in its favor. The details of the act were not 
satisfactory ; but he felt that the state of the country 
required its passage, as nothing better could be ob- 
tained. His feelings may be gathered from the follow- 
ing report of his remarks delivered previous to the 
final vote on the bill : — 

"Mr. Wright then rose, and stated the defects he 
found in the bill. He objected to the proposed rate of 
reduction for the eight years, and to the want of a uni- 
form rule of valuation. He objected to the inequality 
of the protection given by this bill. His next objec- 
tion was, that while the duty un negro cloth exists, it 
refuses to impose any duty on the material which 
enters into that fabric, and which is grown in abun- 
dance in this country. He also objected to the sys- 
tem of home valuation, which he deemed to be im- 
practicable, or if practicable, most unequal ; and he 
objected further to the abolition of all specific and 
discriminating duties, and substituting a mode unjust 
and oppressive [the ad valorem principle.] He would 
not discuss the power of Congress to protect our man- 
ufactures by imposing duties on foreign articles, but 
he thought that this bill did not sufficiently recognize 
that power. On this point he quoted the language of 
the address of the free trade convention, which met 
last year. He expressed his own opinion to be in 
favor of laying imposts for the purpose of raising suf- 
ficient revenue for the wants of the country. So far 



88 REMARKS. 

he was assured that the power to impose duties was 
vested in Congress. 

" His strongest objection to the bill was, that it en- 
deavors to bind the action of future Congresses. He 
considered this as a provision which was puerile in it- 
self, and one which would never be considered as 
binding. He then viewed the circumstances under 
which Congress was called upon to act on this bill, 
imperfect as it is. He knew that he should be charged 
with legislating under the influence of his fears. He 
could not suffer his fears to govern his conclusions. 
But he would not disregard them. There had been a 
deep and settled discontent in a certain portion of the 
country, against our legislation, and he could not bring 
himself to regard that discontent lightly. 

" Under the expression of that feeling, Congress had 
done what, if they had not done, would have left the 
Union dissolved. The operation of that discontent was 
against the whole body of laws for the collection of the 
revenue ; and would, if carried on, have destroyed all 
the means of the government, and without the purse, 
no government could exist. He had, therefore, come 
to the question, deeply impressed with the conviction, 
that it was his duty to give his vote to prevent such an 
evil. He had been long of the opinion that the reve- 
nue ought to be reduced. He had also been long im- 
pressed with a sense of the inequality of the tariflf 
system. No one had questioned the principle on which 
this bill was founded ; it was only in reference to the 
details that difference of opinion existed. A part of 
the country is deeply excited, deeply exasperated ; by 
what means, it was not for him to inquire ; but the 
condition of things was such as to render it uncertain 



REMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITS. 89 

whether the Union can exist even until the month of 
December, unless something shall be done."* 

How prophetic were these words — how lamentably 
the predictions of Mr. Wright were verified, the legis- 
lation of 1842 will bear witness! The passage of the 
bill, however, quieted the agitation ; and the state of 
South CaroHna expressed herself satisfied with its pro- 
visions. The only prominent measure discussed at this 
session of Congress, besides the compromise act, was 
the famous land bill of Mr. Clay, which passed the 
Senate on the 25th of January. The bill authorized 
the distribution of the proceeds of the public lands 
among the states for a limited time. Mr. Wright op- 
posed the micasure, on this occasion, as he did whenever 
it was again brought forward. His opinions were ; that 
the public lands constituted a fund set apart for national 
purposes ; that the avails were necessary to the General 
Government; and that the distribution was only an 
indirect mode of paying the debts of the several states. 
The bill was retained by the President after the adjourn- 
ment of Congress, and returned to the Senate, with his 
objections, at the ensuing session. 

In the summer of 1833, General Jackson determined 
upon the removal of the national deposits from the 
Bank of the United States. He had previously advised 
Congress that he considered the Government funds 
insecure ; but that bodv had taken no action in the 
premises. Under the impression that the bank was 
pursuing a reckless and improvident course, in order to 
create a panic in the monetary affairs of the country, — 
which opinion was shown to be not entirely without 
foundation, by the developments made on the winding 
up of the aflairs of that institution, — he read to his 

♦ NUes' Register, Vol. XLIV. p, 24. 



90 EXCITEMENT. 

cabinet, on the 18th of September, his reasons for de- 
siring the removal ; which received the approbation of a 
majority of his constitutional advisers. The secretary 
of the treasury, Mr. Duane, refused to carry out the 
wishes of the President, and he was displaced, to make 
room for Mr. Taney, by w^hom the removal was made, 
early in October. This proceeding was followed by an 
immediate derangement of the currency of the country, 
and a general depression in business — attributed, on the 
one hand, to the removal, and on the other, to the 
struggles of the bank to perpetuate its existence. The 
act was denounced in the bitterest terms by the friends 
of the bank, as an arbitrary exercise of power, de- 
manding the impeachment of the President, and his 
removal from office. He was alternately entreated and 
threatened, to induce him to restore the deposits ; but 
he remained firm in his determination to carry into 
effect what had been decided upon with care and de- 
liberation. Many of the most influential politicians in 
the country, who had previously given him their sup- 
port, united with the opposition ; every danger that the 
imagination could suggest was forcibly depicted, to 
move him from his purpose ; the panic became, for the 
time, visible and real ; and the whole land was thrown 
into commotion, from the St. Croix to the Sabine. 
Still the President could not be induced to forego his 
conclusions. He believed himself in the right. He 
was aw^are that embarrassment must be produced, but 
he thought it could only be temporary in its duration. 
The measure was, indeed, as rigorous as it was unex- 
pected ; yet he trusted to his countrymen to sustain 
him, when they came to know the reasons which had 
influenced his conduct. 

In the fall of 1833, Mr. Wright was married to a 



HIS OPINIONS. 91 

Miss Moody, the daughter of a gentleman at Canton, 
in whose family he had always boarded. This connec- 
tion was not only productive of sincere and unalloyed 
happiness to those more immediately interested, but it 
afforded much pleasure and gratification to the friends 
who witnessed and participated in it. Both parties re- 
sembled each other in that kindness of heart, and 
amiability of disposition, which are sure to produce 
harmony and contentment ; and it has been said that 
an unkind word, or look, never passed between them. 
This is a sufficient commentary upon the association 
formed under such happy auspices, which death has so 
rudely severed. 

But the absorbing topics to be presented to the Con- 
gress of the Union, summoned Mr. Wright to Wash- 
ington in the midst of his felicity. The course of the 
President was in accordance with his own views, and 
he was prepared to sustain him with all the ability he 
possessed. The administration, too, counted upon his 
aid, and it could not have found a more zealous de- 
fender. The opinions he entertained on the exciting 
questions brought before Congress, may be summed up 
in a few words : He believed, with the President, that 
the deposits were unsafe with the bank of the United 
States, and that the circumstances of the case required 
their removal ; that the executive was responsible to 
the country for the proper discharge of the ofiicial 
duties of every member of his cabinet ; and that the 
power of removal necessarily belonged to him, in order 
to efi'ect that object. In regard to the existing pecu- 
niary distress, he thought the bank had produced it for 
the purpose of creating an impression favorable to its 
re-charter ; and that if it would confine itself to closing 
its affairs, confidence would be restored, and the coun- 



92 MEETING OF CONGRESS. 

try become prosperous. Upon these general views, his 
speeches and votes were founded, at the session com- 
mencing in December, 1833. 

At the opening of the session, Mr. White, the presi- 
dent pro tem., decUned to appoint the committees of 
the Senate. It had been customary, since the year 
1828, for the presiding officer to discharge that duty; 
but the Senate thought proper to take the power from 
the Vice-President, and appoint the committees by 
ballot. Mr. Wright was placed on the committees on 
agriculture and on commerce. With the organization 
of the Senate commenced the warfare between the 
friends of the administration and the opposition. The 
latter had a majority in the Senate ; but in the House 
the preponderance was in favor of the executive. 
Petitions of every class and character were presented. 
The prayer of all was, that relief should be afforded to 
the monetary interests of the nation, which, it was said, 
were now threatened with a complete prostration. Some 
thought the restoration of the deposits would be suffi- 
cient — others asked for the re-charter of the bank. 
But the main questions put, in and out of Congress, 
were — What does the government propose ? — what will 
the administration do in this emergency ? On the pre- 
sentation of petitions, it was usual for senators to 
express their opinions in regard to the financial dis- 
tresses which all admitted to exist, and which all de- 
plored. On the 30th of January, Mr. Wright presented 
a series of resolutions approving of the removal of the 
deposits, adopted by the Legislature of the state of New 
York, and availed himself of the occasion to express his 
views at some length.* He disclaimed to speak as the 
organ of the administration, but every one felt thr he 

* See Appeadiz< 



SPEECH ON THE BANK. 93 

Uttered the sentiments, not only of himself, but of the 
President and Vice-President. He defended the removal, 
of the deposits, and declared that he was opposed to 
their restoration.. He also assumed a position adverse 
to the re-charter of the bank, or the incorporation of 
any similar institution ; on the broad ground that the 
constitution had not conferred the power upon Congress. 
He acknowledged that the pecuniary affairs of the 
country were deranged, but assumed that they would 
soon return to a healthy condition, provided the bank 
would adhere to its legitimate business, and prepare to 
bring its concerns to a close. The speech was able 
and eloquent. It was Hstened to with deep interest ; 
and those who knew the inflexible nature of President 
Jackson, and the uncompromising character of the 
speaker, savr that there could be no hesitation, or change, 
in the course of the administration. 

On the 20th of March, Mr. Wright addressed the 
Senate again, upon a motion made by Mr. Webster, 
for leave to introduce a bill re-chartering the Bank of 
the United States for a limited period. This speech, 
like the previous one, was expressive" of his views upon 
the currency questions, and attracted attention, on the 
part of the friends, as w*e]l as of the opponents of the 
administration. No one now denied him the possession 
of commanding talents — Mr. Webster paid him a high 
compliment for the ability he had displayed — and he 
was afterwards regarded as the leader of the demo- 
cratic party in the Senate. The following extracts 
from the concluding portion of the speech on Mr. Web- 
ster's resolution, present Mr. Wright's opinions in re- 
gard to the course of the bank, and the propriety of 
its re-charter, in a clear and forcible manner : — 

*' I cannot, then, be mistaken when I say, thai if the 



94 SPEECH CONTINUED. 

Bank of the United States would cease its efforts for, 
and its hopes of, a re-existence, and would endeavor 
to perform its duty to the country, by closing its affairs 
with as little injury as possible to any individual or 
public interest, the state banks would be able to extend 
their loans, confidence would be restored, and the pres- 
sure upon the money market would soon cease. Ap- 
prehension, — a just apprehension of the hostile move- 
ments of this great institution, is the most powerful 
cause of the present scarcity of money. This scarcity 
must exist so long as this apprehension continues. 
How, then, is it to be allayed ? would seem to be the 
pertinent inquiry. The honorable senator from Mas- 
sachusetts answers us by the bill upon your table. Re- 
charter the bank ; appease the monster by prolonging 
its existence, and increasing its power. I say, no, sir ; 
but act promptly and refuse its wish ; destroy its hope 
of a re-charter, and you destroy its inducement to be 
hostile to the state institutions. A different interest — 
the interest of its stockholders — to wind up its affairs 
as profitably to themselves as possible, becomes its 
ruling object, and will direct its policy. The more 
prosperous the country, the more plenty the money of 
other institutions, the more easily and safely can this 
object be accomplished ; and every hope of a contin- 
ued existence being destroyed, that this will be the ob- 
ject of the bank is as certain as that its moneyed interest 
governs a moneyed incorporation. Mr. President, this 
is unquestionably the opinion of the country. Look, 
sir, at the files of memorials upon your table, and how- 
ever widely they may differ as to their views of the 
bank, they all hold to you this language, * act speedily, 
and finally settle the question.' 
*' But we are told, sir, that the country cannot sus- 



SPEECH CONTINUED. 95 

tain the winding up of the affairs of this bank. Is this 
so ? What does experience teach us upon this subject? 
The old Bank of the United States, within four months 
of the close of its charter, was more extended in pro- 
portion to the amount of its capital than the present 
bank is at this moment, and still it is almost two years 
to the close of its charter. The old bank struggled as 
this does for a re-existence ; the country was then 
alarmed ; memorials in favor of the bank were then, as 
now, piled upon the tables of the members of Congress ; 
the cries of distress rung through these halls then, as 
distinctly as they now do ; — nay, more, gentlemen were 
then sent here from the commercial cities to be ex- 
amined upon oath, before the committees of Congress, 
to prove the existence and the extent of the distress ; 
business was then in a state of the utmost depression 
in all parts of the Union ; commerce was literally sus- 
pended by the restrictive measures of the government ; 
trade was dull beyond any former example ; property 
of all kinds was unusually depressed in price ; and the 
country was on the eve of a war with the most pow- 
erful nation in the world. Still, Congress w^as un- 
moved, and the old bank was not re-chartered. Such 
is the history of that period, and, with the final action 
of Congress, all knowledge of the distress ceased. 
Who has ever heard of disasters to the business of the 
country, proceeding from the winding up of the old 
bank ? I, sir, can find no trace of any such conse- 
quences. I do find that, in a period of about eigh- 
teen months after the expiration of the charter, the 
bank disposed of its obligations, and divided to its 
stockholders about eighty-eight per cent, upon their 
stock. 

" It is now admitted, on all hands, that the country 



96 SPEECH CONTINUED. 

is rich and prosperous in an unusual degree ; property 
of all kinds is abundant ; commerce is free, and exten- 
sive, and flourishing, and business of every description 
is healthful and vigorous. If then, we cannot, in this 
condition of things, sustain the closing of the affairs of 
this great moneyed incorporation, it is safe to assume 
that the country will never see the time Vvhen it can 
do it. Grant it longer life and deeper root, and in vain 
shall we try in future to shake it from us. It will dic- 
tate its own terms, and command its own existence. 
Indeed, Mr. President, the whole tendency of the hon- 
orable senator's argument seemed to me to be, to prove 
the necessity of a perpetual bank of this descript on ; 
and we have been repeatedly told, during the debate 
of the last three months, that this free, and rich, ;pid 
prosperous country, cannot get on without a great mo- 
neyed power of this description to regulate its affliirs. 
The bill before the Senate proposes to repeal the mo- 
nopolizing provision in the existing charter, and the 
honorable senator tells us that this is to be done that 
Congress may, within the six years over which this is 
to extend the life of the present bank, estabhsh a new 
bank to take its place, and into which the affairs of the 
old may be transferred, so as to be finally closed with- 
out a shock to the country. Sir, this is not the relief 
I seek. My object is the entire discontinuance and 
eradication of this or any similar institution. We are 
told the distresses of the country will not permit this 
now. When, sir, will it ever permit it better ? When 
wdll the timiC come, that this odious institution can be 
finally closed with less distress than now? Never, 
while cupidity obeys its fixed laws ; never, sir, never ! 

*' This distress, Mr. President, did not exist when we 
left our homes ; we heard not of it then ; it commenced 



RESOLUTION'S OF CRNSURK. 97 

with the commencement of our debates liere ; and 1 
doubt not it will end when our debates end, and our 
final action is known, whatever may be the result to 
which we shall arrive. It must necessarily be tempo- 
rarv, and it does not prove to mv mind the necessity 
of a bank, but the mischiefs a bank may produce. 1 
care not whether it be or be not in the power of the 
bank to ameliorate the evils now complained of. That 
it can cause them in any manner, is proof that, if the 
disposition exist, it can cause them at pleasure ; and 
this very fact is the strongest evidence, to mv mind, 
that no institution, with such a power, ought to exist 
in this country. 

'* Sir, the subject of our present action involves two 
great first principles: one of constitutional power, and 
one of governmental expediency. Upon neither should 
our action be s:overned solely by considerations of 
temporary derangement and distress in the money 
market. Revulsions in trade and business, and pecu- 
niary affairs, will happen. They must be temporary ; 
the country v»ill restore itself, and money will again be 
plenty ; but the settlement of important principles must 
involve consequences of an enduring character, — con- 
sequences which will exert an influence for good or for 
evil, through all time.'' 

Earlv in the session, Mr. Clav introduced in the 
Senate two resolutions — the one declaring that the 
reasons given bv the secretary of the treasury for the 
removal of the deposits, in his report to Congress, were 
insufficient and unsatisfactory ; and the other, having 
reference to the President of the United States, which 
was modified previous to the final vote thereon, so as 
to read as follows : — 

" Resolved, That the President, in the late executive 



98 DEFENCE OF THE PRESIDENT. 

proceedings in relation to the public revenue, has as- 
sumed upon himself authority and power not conferred 
by the constitution and laws, but in derogation of both." 
The debate on these resolutions was protracted to a 
late day in the session, and called out the most power- 
ful talent in the Senate. All the prominent members 
of that body spoke on the subject. The clashing and 
collision of so much intellect in the fierv debase, it was 
terrible to witness. The relation which the bank sus- 
tained to the government as its fiscal agent ; the extent 
of the discretionary authority of the secretary to con- 
trol the funds ; the power of removal and appointment 
to office ; and the right to censure or impeach the 
President; were reviewed at length. It was a severe 
school to a new member like Mr. Wright ; but he sus- 
tained himself, even above the expectations of his 
friends. On the 26th of March, 1834, he delivered one 
of the most touching and forcible speeches that was 
made upon the resolutions, and which elicited the high- 
est encomiums from those who heard it.* '' Mr. 
Wright," said the correspondent of an opposition paper 
in the city of New York, " argued long in defence of 
the full and complete power of removal from office 
given to the President ; and, taking the ground as for- 
merly by Mr. Benton, that the President was amenable 
criminally, and subject, if guilty, to impeachment by the 
House of Representatives, the Senate, he concluded, as 
his judges, ought not to entertain the resolutions ; that 
the resolutions were not relevant, and if relevant, there 
was nothing in the facts to support them. After argu- 
ing upon all these, and urging much in deprecation of 
the proceedings the Senate was about to take, to blast 
the character of one whose actions, commencing in the 

* See Appendix. 



THE RESOLUTIONS PASSED. 99 

revolutionary annals of the country, had closed by his 
victory at New Orleans, with a blaze of glory which 
time would not extinguish ; he concluded, after a well- 
delivered and feeling eulogy and appeal, by hoping that 
it was not such a person they were about to condemn, 
without trial, without that which was given to every 
other individual. He besought them to consider that 
in his career he had done the state some service ; that 
age was creeping fast upon him ; that his gray hairs 
were without a stain ; and that they would permit him 
to enjoy the rights guaranteed by the constitution which 
he had gallantly defended from the attack of its enemies 
in the field, and let conviction precede their sentence. 
This defence and peroration were given by Mr. Wright, 
in a manner vvhich is creditable to his head and heart." 
In spite of the efforts of the administration senators, 
the resolutions of Mr. Clay were passed on the 28th 
of March, by large majorities ; and on the 15th of April 
following, the President communicated to the Senate 
his protest against their proceedings. The passage of 
the resolutions had been followed b.y a season of calm 
and quiet ; but the appearance of the protest aroused 
the fires of excitement and passion which had only been 
smothered, and not subdued. The risfht of the execu- 
tive to communicate such a paper to the Senate was 
positively denied, and the act denounced as a breach 
of privilege. The war of words was fiercer than ever ; 
and Messrs. Clay, Calhoun, and Webster, dehvered 
most CiTective speeches in opposition to the reception 
of the protest. Mr. Wright, and the administration 
senators, manfully defended the course of the President, 
but they were overborne by the resistless power of 
numbers. The Senate refused to enter the protest on 
iheir journals, as was requested by its author, and the 



loo THE POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT. 

controversy soon after terminated. It is a remarkable 
fact, in connection with the debate on this subject, and 
the other exciting discussions of the session, that Mr. 
Wright always preserved his self-possession, and was 
never known to be ruffled in temper. While other 
senators around him, older in years and in experience, 
occasionally gave way to the impulses they were unable 
to restrain, he was never wanting in courtesy or respect. 
It is honorable, also, to the distinguished statesmen at 
the head of the opposition, who found in him an antag- 
onist whom it required all their strength to encounter, 
that they ever paid him the most marked deference and 
regard. 

Mr. Wright endeavored to procure the passage of a 
bill at this session regulating the deposits in the safety- 
fund banks ; but was unsuccessful. Mr. Clay offered 
resolutions requiring the deposits to be restored to the 
Bank of the United States, which were adopted by a 
party vote. The affairs of the Post-office department 
were also made the subject of investigation. It ap- 
peared that the postmaster-general had made loans for 
the purpose of discharging the liabilities of the depart- 
ment, without authority of law, and a resolution, pro- 
nouncing such loans illegal and void, was unanimously 
passed in the Senate — Mr. Wright being present and 
voting in its favor. It was not alleged against the 
officer whose conduct was censured by this vote, that 
he had committed any intentional wrong ; and hence 
no further proceedings were instituted. 

The resolutions of Mr. Clay in regard to the secre- 
tary of the treasury, and the restoration of the deposits, 
were laid on the table in the House of Representatives. 
A resolution, declaring that the Bank of the United 
States ought not to be re-chartered, was carried, by a 



INVITATION AT ALBANY. 101 

vote of 132 to 82. The session closed on the 30th of 
June — many of the members of both branches of Con- 
gress having completely exhausted their energies and 
strength, with the incessant labor and excitement. Mr. 
Wright, at all times assiduous in the discharge of his 
public duties, was never more so than during the winter 
and spring of 1834. After his return home, he was 
attacked by a severe fit of sickness, but recovered in 
time to set out for Washington prior to the meeting of 
Congress in December. While on his way to the seat 
of government, he stopped for a few days in the city 
of Albany, where he had formerly resided ; and, during 
his stay, he was invited to a public dinner by the re- 
publican general committee. He declined the invita- 
tion in polite terms, acknowledging his indebtedness to 
his friends in that city, and to the democratic citizens 
of the state, " for everything of character and standing 
he possessed as a public servant,'' and avowing his 
willingness at all times to acknowledge their claims 
upon him. " You will believe me, gentlemen," he said, 
in his letter declining the invitation, " when I say that 
from no quarter could such a mark of friendship and 
confidence come to me more acceptably, than from the 
democratic citizens of Albany. With them for my 
associates and counsellors, and under their personal 
observation, has much the largest portion of my public 
duties been discharged ; and this evidence that I have 
been so fortunate as to secure their approbation, is most 
gratifying, as it permits me to hope that my efforts to 
be faithful to the public have not been w^holly unsuc- 
cessful. A proper attention to the same duties compels 
me to ask you, and those whom you represent, to excuse 
me from meeting you and them as you request. My 
short stay in the city must be wholly devoted to public 



102 REDUCTION OF EXECUTIVE PATRONAGE. 

business and public interests of great importance, a 
necessary attention to which brought me here thus 
early, on my way to the seat of government ; and while 
I will not attempt to express my regret that I cannot 
enjoy the social meeting to which you invite me, I am 
consoled by the reflection that the loss will be mine — 
not that of the friends who are thus partial to me." 

At the second session of the 23rd Congress, commen- 
cing in December 1884, Mr. Wright was elected a 
member of the committees on finance and on com- 
merce. One of the most important questions discussed 
at this session, was that of the reduction of the ex- 
ecutive patronage. The design of the bill introduced 
on this subject was, to limit the power of the President 
in making removals from office, and to require a vote 
of the Senate in certain cases. The bill was opposed 
by Mr. Wright in an able speech, in which he proved 
most conclusively, that the first Congress had decided 
that the power of removal belonged to the President, 
under the constitution, and that every executive from 
Washington downwards had exercised it. The bill 
passed the Senate by a vote of thirty-one to sixteen, 
but failed in the House. At the session of 1833-34 an 
act was passed for the improvement of the Wabash 
river, which the President had refused to sanction, on 
the ground that it could not be considered a national 
work, as there was no port of entry on that river. In 
1835 an attempt was made to pass a bill establishing a 
port of entry on the Wabash, in order to evade the 
constitutional difficulty. Mr. Wright regarded such 
legislation as trifling with the constitution, and gave 
his vote against the bill. 

At this session Mr. Wright opposed the passage of 
the bill providing for the payment of French spoliations 



DIFFICULTY WITH FRANCE. 103 

prior to 1800. He also took a prominent part in per- 
fecting the bill to regulate the deposits in the state 
banks, which was lost in the House, and the annual ap- 
propriation bills. 

In his message to Congress, at the commencement 
of the session, the President had stated his apprehen- 
sions of a termination of the friendly intercourse existing 
between the government of the United States and the 
French nation, growing out of the refusal or neglect of 
the latter to fulfil the stipulations of the treaty of 1831. 
He also recommended that measures should be taken 
to provide for the defence of the country. The Senate 
were of the opinion that it would be more advisable to 
delay action, until it was known what had been the 
proceedings of the French Chambers, and therefore 
pnssed a resolution declaring that any legislation at that 
time was inexpedient. But as Congress was about to 
adjourn, intelligence of the most alarming character 
was received, and both Houses unanimouslv resolved to 
insist upon the execution of the treaty. It was feared that 
hostilities midit commence before the new Conjiress 
could be summoned together, and on the evening of the 
last day of the session, at the request of the President, 
an amendment w^as inserted in the fortification bill, then 
before the House of Representatives, appropriating the 
sum of three millions of dollars, to be expended under 
his directions, in preparations for w^ar, if it should be 
necessary. The opposition members of the Senate re- 
fused to concur in this amendment, on the ground that 
it was placing too much power in the hands of the 
President. After several senators had spoken, Mr. 
Wright made a most eloquent and patriotic speech in 
reply, which is reported as follows : — * 

* Niles' Register, Vol. XLVIII. p. 52. 



104 srEECH 0\ THE ArPROPRIATION. 

" Mr. Wright hoped the Senate would not adhere to 
their disagreement. He felt himself bound to state that 
he did not know that he had heard of the constitution 
being broken down — destroyed — and the liberties of 
the country overthrown, so frequently in that Senate, 
as to render him callous to the real state of things. 
For the last sixteen montlis these fears and forebodings 
had been so strongly and often expressed on that floor, 
that the^/ had been forcibly impressed upon him ; yet, 
he must say, that lie was incapable of perceiving a par- 
ticle of their effects. No evidence had he seen of them ; 
nor could he now partake of the alarm vvhich some 
gentlemen pretended to feel, when he saw tliat the as- 
severations made at this time came from the same 
source. What had the Senate now before it ? A bill 
from the House of Representatives — from the immediate 
representatives of the people, proposing to provide for 
the defence of the country. What had honorable 
senators debated ? The danger of executive power. 
Were, he would ask, those representatives, sitting at 
the other end of the capitol, the most likely to contribute 
to that dan2:er ? Was that the source from which 
senators were compelled to look for danger in that re- 
spect ? Such an idea had never occurred to his mind. 
Under what circumstances did the members of the 
other body permit tlie appropriation 1 He believed, 
and he spoke on good authority, that our minister at 
the court of France had informed this government that 
it was problematical that the French might strike the 
first blow against us by detaining our ileet, now in the 
Mediterranean. Congress were on tlie point of ad- 
journing ; and being in pos.session of such advices from 
our minister, they had thought proper to act as they had 



EFFECT OF THE SPEECH. 105 

done in regard to this appropriation ; and he would in- 
quire, by what notion it was, that the Senate were to 
be impressed with the danger of putting this power into 
the hands of the executive — that our Uberties were to 
be destroyed, and the constitution trampled upon ? 
Ay, in making an appropriation for the defence and 
safety of the country from a foreign enemy ! 

" The honorable senator/' (Mr. Leigh) said Mr. 
Wright in continuation, " has exhibited to us the dan- 
gers — of what ? Not a foreign enemy, for he would 
hardly dread the landing of a foreign foe at our doors — 
but a domestic enemy is to ruin us ! I remember, 
though it was at a period when I was very young, that 
a certain portion of the country held the same opinion as 
the honorable senator, and, when a foreign enemy did 
land in it, no alarm was shown, but the people there were 
alarmed at the domestic enemy. How was the foreign 
enemy met ? As the honorable senator has most elo- 
quently said — * breast to breast V No ; that enemy 
was seen holding a Bible in his hand, and the American 
citizen putting his hand upon it, and swearing allegiance 
to the British government. Such is not my feeling in 
regard to a foreign enemy. I would prepare to re- 
pulse him at the first step ; I would prepare to prevent 
him from touching my native soil, if I had it in my 
power." 

The earnest appeal of Mr. Wright was not without 
its effect. The Senate appointed a committee of con- 
ference, of which Messrs. Webster, Frelinghuysen, and 
Wright, were members, to meet a similar committee 
from the House. The result was, the reduction of 
the amount to be appropriated, to eight hundred thou- 
sand dollars. The Senate concurred in the amendment, 

5* 



106 FAILURE OF THE BILL. 

but when the subject was again presented to the House, 
there was not a quorum of members in attendance, 
and the whole bill failed. With the adjournment, the 
twenty-third Congress, one of the most important in 
the history of the country, terminated its existence. 



CHAPTER VI. 

1835. — Nomination of Mr. Van Buren for the Presidency — Standing 
of Mr. Wright in the Senate — The Land Bill — Abolition of Slavery 
in the District of Columbia — The Surplus Revenue — Speculations- 
Remedies for the Financial Evils of the Country — Distribution— Op- 
position of Mr. Wright and others — The Specie Circular — Election 
of Mr. Van Buren — Act to Repeal — Abohtion Petitions — Acknowl- 
edgment of Texan Independence — Expunging Resolution — Re-elec- 
tion of Mr. Wrisht — Visit to Vermont — The Pressure— Differences 
of Opinion — Views of Mr. Wright — Extra Session— The Independent 
Treasury — United States Bank— Special Deposit System— The Con- 
servatives — Slavery in the District — North Eastern Boundary Ques- 
tion—The Bankrupt Bill of 1810— Renomination of Jlr. Van Buren 
— His Administration — Expenses — Extra Session called by President 
Harrison— Repeal of the IndependentTreasury-Loan Bill — Bankrupt 
Law — Land Distribution Bill of Mr. Clay — Vetoes of the Bank Bills 
— Provisional Tariff Bill and Vetoes of the President— Mr. Clay's 
Resolutions— Apportionment Bill- Tariff Law of 1812— Bill to Re- 
fund the Fine Paid by General Jackson at New Orleans — Mr. 
Wri<rht Re-elected for a Third Term.— l.S-13. 

In May 1835, a national democratic convention was 
held at Baltimore, of which Mr. Wright was a member. 
Public opinion had for a long time been fixed upon Mc. 
Van Buren as the successor of General Jackson in the 
chair of state, and he received the unanimous nomina- 
tion of the convention for the presidency. The con- 
spicuous position occupied by Mr. Wright during the 
stormy session of the twenty-third Congress, ns one of 
the ablest supporters of the administration : the reliance 
of the President on his counsel and advice ; and the 



108 HIGH STANDING IN THE SENATE. 

high estimation in which his ^^'actical good sense and 
sound judgment were held by his party friends, had 
contributed to place him prominently before the nation. 
The selection of Mr. Van Buren, as the presidential 
candidate, and its undoubted confirmation bv the elec- 
tors of the country, attracted still greater attention to 
his movements. Possessing the unlimited confidence 
of the President and Vice President, it was generally 
thought that in all he said or did, he was prompted 
more or less by a regard for their vievvS and interests. 
This sudden elevation to a high place among the ablest 
statesmen of tiie day might well have dazzled one less 
fixed and unchanging in his principles. He Avas sur- 
rounded b;v men who were active participants in the 
poUtical contests of a past generation. Many of them 
he had distanced, and all v»ere willing to acknowledge 
him as an equal. But no one remarked a change in 
his bearin<^. He was the same upon the floor of the 
Senate, when lie was looked upon as the confidential 
representative of the executive, that he had been while 
administering justice, and reconciling differences, be- 
tween his fellow-citizens in a quiet country village. 
Substantial, enduring merit was his, and a clear, well- 
balanced mind. He was not elated at his success, but 
calmly pursued the straightforward, undeviating track, 
along which his footsteps had been directed. The 
purity of his motives w'ah never questioned, nor his 
integrity doubted, upon the floor of tlie Senate. Had 
any dared to whisper aught against him — all, even tlie 
most zealous and determined partisan in the ranks of 
the opposition, would have thrunk from the calumnia- 
tor, as if there had been poison in the -touch 

Congre.ss convened in December 1835, and Mr. 
Wright was again placed on the committee on finance, 



THE SURPLUS REVENUE. 109 

having been supported by the administration senators 
for chairman, in opposition to Mr. Webster. He was 
also a member of tlie committee on agriculture. At 
this session he advocated the passage of the prospec- 
tive pre-emption bill, the admission of Arkansas and 
Michigan into the Union, and the bill for the relief of 
the sutierers at the hre in A^ew York. The land dis- 
tribution bill of Mr. Clay was again brought forward, 
and again passed the Senate. Mr. Wright, with Mr. 
Calhoun and Mr. Benton, voted against it. During the 
session, a petition was presented from the Society of 
Friends in the city of Philadelphia, praying for the 
abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia. On 
Mr. Buchanan's motion to reject the prayer of the 
petition, Mr Clay, Mr, Benton, Mr. Calhoun, and Mr. 
Wriofht, voted in the affirmative. But six members of 
the Senate opposed the motion. On the 2nd of June 
1836, a bill Vv'as passed to prevent the transmission 
through the mail of printed matter calculated to excite 
the prejudices of the citizens of the southern states, in 
regard to the question of slavery. Mr. Wright voted 
for the bill. A resolution was unanimously passed in 
the Senate on the 1st of July, declaring that the Inde- 
pendence of Texas ought to be acknowledged, so soon 
as it was ascertained that it had an established govern- 
ment in successful operation. 

But the most important question presented for the 
consideration of the national legislature at this session 
was, that of the disposition of the surplus revenue and 
the regulation of the deposits. It was important, not 
merely so far as the safety of the government funds 
was concerned, but in the influence it exerted upon 
the administration of Mr. Van Buren, and the com- 
mercial and mercantile interests of the country. The 



110 SPECULATION IN LANDS. 

amount deposited in the state banks selected as the 
fiscal agents of the treasury, exceeded forty millions of 
dollars. This large sum formed the basis of a most 
gigantic system of speculation. The amount of credit 
resting upon this actual capital could hardly be esti- 
mated with exactness, but it is supposed to have been 
several hundred millions of dollars. Heaw loans were 
made by the deposit banks upon the government funds 
in their vaults. Money, or the representative of money, 
became plenty ; and the dreams which had haunted 
the early Spanish adventurers, of an El Dorado in the 
West, seemed about to be realized. City lots, and 
real estate of every description, were converted into 
mines of wealth. The prices of all articles of value 
rose as if by magic. The fever — for it was but a 
fever, as fitful and exciting in its progress, as terrible 
when at its height, and as slow and painful in its con- 
valescence—the fever of speculation, raged in the city, 
in the town, and in the country. The ledger of the 
merchant, or the banker, was laid aside ; the briefs of 
the lawyer were left untouched upon his table ; the 
tools of the mechanic rested in their places ; and the 
plough of the farmer remained idle in its furrow. One 
engrossing sentiment occupied every mind — the desire 
for gain. 

Among the many objects of speculation, were the 
western lands belonging to the Government. The loans 
made by the deposit banks were employed in purchas- 
ing up large tracts, whose descriptions had for years 
cumbered the files of the land ofi^ice, and the monevs 
paid to the receivers were returned to the banks, as 
new deposits, to form the basis of new loans. The able 
statesmen in Congress, of both parties, foresaw the 
evils which must ensue, and began seriously to reflect 



DISTRIBUTION. Ill 

upon a remedy. The administration proposed to ex- 
pend such portion of the surplus revenue as could be 
advantageously used, upon the military defences of the 
nation. Mr. Benton offered a resolution having that 
object in view, which was supported by Mr. Wright. 
The opposition senators voted for striking out the word 
"surplus" in the resolution, and succeeded in carrying 
the motion. As amended, the resolution was unani- 
mously passed. But it was shorn of its strength, and 
a disposition of the surplus was yet to be made. The 
idea of investing it in state stocks was then suggested 
on the part of the administration, and it was proposed 
on the other side to deposit it with the several states. 
It was objected to the plan of the administration, that 
the secretary of the treasury would have too much 
power and patronage at his disposal, under such a 
regulation, and that the funds would be less reliable 
and secure than if deposited with the states. Subse- 
quent events have shown that the last argument was 
of little weight, though it was warmly urged when the 
subject was under discussion. The stocks of the states 
would have enabled the government, in some degree, 
to sustain itself in its embarrassments ; but the mere 
indebtedness proved to be wholly nominal. The first 
objection of the opposition would have been removed, 
by the adoption of restrictions more severe than those 
which had been proposed ; but the friends of the distri- 
bution of the surplus among the states, had a com- 
manding majority in Congress, and were determined 
to carry the measure into effect. Both parties were 
desirous of regulating the deposits, and of preventing 
their use as the basis of loans to speculators. But the 
opposition, with a large proportion of the administra- 
tion members, thought proper to couple the two pro- 



112 SPECIE CIRCULAR. 

jects together. Mr. Van Buren was decidedly opposed 
to the distribution. Mr. Wright and Mr. Benton la- 
bored to prevent its adoption. The former delivered 
an elaborate and argumentative speech, in which he 
predicted the financial difficulties that afterwards crip- 
pled the government and the energies of its citizens, 
as the inevitable results of this disposition of the sur- 
plus. His warnings were not heeded, and the bill be- 
came the law of the land. Mr. Wright, and the sena- 
tors who thought with him, persisted in their opposition 
to the last, and recorded their votes against the bill. 
To the latest hour of his life, he was prouder of that 
vote, than of any other given during the time he was a 
member of the Senate. In the course of the debate on 
the bill, Mr. Tallmadge, the colleague of Mr. Wright, 
intimated that the latter had disregarded the wishes of 
his constituents, and that his opposition to the measure 
under consideration would be visited with their dis- 
pleasure. Mr. Wright made but a few remarks in 
reply, but those were uttered with so much manliness 
and dignity, that no one envied the position of his col- 
league^. 

On the 11th of July, subsequent to the adjournment 
of Congress, President Jackson issued his celebrated 
" Specie Circular," requiring all payments for the public 
lands to be made in gold and silver. The design of this 
movement was, both to check the spirit of speculation, 
which continued to increase until the distribution act 
went into operation ; and also to guard the treasury 
against loss, when the catastrophe, which was now 
confidently predicted by himself and the opponents of 
that measure, had come to pass. W^hile the country 
was still apparently prosperous, the presidential elec- 
tion was held, and resulted in the choice of Mr. Van 



EEDUCTIOX OF THE TARIFF. 113 

Buren, by a large majority of the electoral votes. In 
December, 1836, the administration party had a ma- 
jority in the Senate, in consequence of several changes 
which had taken place. Mr. Wright was then ap- 
pointed chairman of the committee on finance, a po- 
sition which he continued to occupy until the whigs 
came into povver in 1841, adding every year to his 
previous reputation for industry and ability. 

The specie circular was the main topic of discussion 
at this session. It no doubt operated harshly and rigor- 
ously in many instances, and while it was thought to 
close up a source of inexhaustible wealth, which, in 
fact, was but transitory in its duration, and delusive in 
its character, it was felt to be oppressive. A portion 
of the administration members of Congress, most of 
v/hom afterwards opposed the Independent Treasury 
bill, united with the opposition in passing a law repeal- 
ing the circular. The President declined carrying it 
into effect, on the ground that it was uncertain and in- 
definite, and, for the present, the currency question 
remained in its Ibi-mer position. At this session, Mr. 
Wright procured the passage of a bill reducing the 
duty on certain articles. It was opposed by Mr. Clay, 
on the ground that it violated the compromise act ; but 
it was carried in the Senate by a vote of twenty-seven 
to eighteen. The question of the reception of abolition 
petitions was again discussed, and the subject disposed 
of, by the informal adoption of a rule among the sena- 
tors, of laying the motion to refer, or the motion to 
receive, on the table. This course was approved by 
Mr. Clay, Mr. Benton, Mr. Calhoun, and Mr. W^right. 
On the 1st of March, 1837, a vote was taken on a 
resolution previously introduced in the Senate, ac- 
knowledging the Independence of Texas. Mr. Wright, 



114 RE-ELECTED SENATOR. 

and nearly all the administration senators from the 
northern states, were of the opinion that it would be 
unwise, inasmuch as a proposition for the annexation 
of Texas to this government was in contemplation, or 
a wish to that effect had been expressed, to pass the 
resolution, while negotiations were understood to be 
pending between the Texan government and Santa 
Anna, the President of the Mexican republic ; and 
therefore they opposed its adoption. At this session 
also, the resolution censuring General Jackson for the 
removal of the deposits, passed in 1834, was ordered to 
be expunged from the journal, by a vote of twenty-nine 
to fourteen — Mr. Wright voting in its favor. 

At the annual session of the Legislature of New York 
in the winter of 1837, Mr. Wright was re-elected for 
the full term of six years. At the caucus to nominate 
a candidate, some opposition was manifested to his 
selection. The friends of the lateral canals were not 
unmindful of his opposition to their projects, and the 
banking interest of the state had become in a measure 
hostile to Mr. Van Buren and himself There were 
older politicians, too, who were jealous of his increas- 
ing popularity — even in spite of their respect for the 
man, and their admiration of his talents. The oppos- 
ing candidate was Samuel Beardsley, then attorney- 
general of the state. The caucus decided by a large 
vote in favor of Mr. Wright, and on the following day 
he was elected by the Les^islature. 

Immediately after the adjournment of Congress, Mr. 
Wright visited the state of Vermont. At Burlington, 
he received an invitation to a public dinner, which, in 
accordance with his invariable rule, he respectfully de- 
clined. Everywhere throughout the state, where his 
early years had been passed, he was regarded with 



FINANCIAL CRISIS. 115 

especial favor, and received many evidences of the 
respect and esteem of its inhabitants. He retmnied 
from his journey in time to witness the explosion which 
he had anticipated. The distribution act had not pre- 
vented the evil which its friends declared would be 
averted. The crisis came — came too, with crushing 
force — bearing everything before it; and crumbling 
into dust the whole fabric of the credit system, which 
had depended on the surplus revenue for its strength 
and support. The measures of the administration 
doubtless hastened this catastrophe, but how could the 
result have been avoided? The system was an un- 
sound one in its origin. The surplus was not designed 
to furnish the means for banking facilities or operations ; 
nor should it have been considered as so much actual 
capital on which a permanent credit could be based. 
But laying this argument aside ; there was another 
reason why such a state of things could not long have 
endured. A large amount of individual capital w^as 
invested in unproductive real estate, or in that which 
possessed a fictitious value. Nominal wealth was made 
to take the place of what should have been real, and 
when the day for payment came to those who relied 
upon such means, as it could not but eventually come, 
however long it might have been postponed, no human 
agency could have prevented just such results as were 
witnessed in 1837. The feelings growing out of the 
political contests of that day, are still cherished by 
those who participated in the struggle ; and while some 
may condemn the administration and its friends, as it 
is but natural that they should if they were then honest 
in their opinions, others will defend them. It must not 
be expected, that those who suffered from the blow 
could so easily forget the causes which they believed 



116 THE CIRCULAR AND DISTRIBUTION. 

had produced it. Many, many bright hopes, depended 
upon the speculations of that period — oh, how bright 
were they, and gorgeous — and how painful must it have 
been, to see them scattered forever, like the leaves of 
the Sibyl, before the breath of the tempest ! 

The views of Mr. Wright in regard to the objects 
of the specie circular, and its propriety and expediency 
were often expressed on the floor of the Senate. It 
was designed to prevent the speculation in western 
lands ; to save the government from loss ; and check 
the over-issues of the banks. The avowed intention 
of the distribution policy was to accomplish the same 
purposes. Its advocates declared themselves desirous 
of preventing the use of the surplus as the basis for 
bank loans ; and no more effectual mode could have 
been devised to secure that object, than its deposit 
with the states. But that was not the only result, as 
IMr. Wright contended, that was produced by the mea- 
sure. While remaining on deposit, it had formed the 
foundation of the most stupendous banking system, in 
the aggregate, that ever existed in the country. Its 
withdrawal from the eastern cities left the system 
without prop or support. The specie circular, in his 
opinion, would have prevented the extravagant specu- 
lations which all desired to correct, and the investment 
of the surplus in state stocks, as proposed by him in 
Congress, have relieved the pressure by retainmg the 
surplus in the large commercial towns. 

The removal of the government deposits from the 
banks, for the purposes of distribution, was followed by 
a heavy demand for specie to be shipped to Europe. 
Large importations of foreign goods had been made in 
1836. The financial condition of the European states, 
towards the close of that year, was such, that a com- 



SUSPENSION OF SPECIE PAYMENTS. 117 

mercial revulsion was apprehended — abroad as well as 
at home. The Bank of England curtailed its opera- 
tions, and refused to discount for the houses ens^aged in 

' CO 

the American trade. Bills drawn on them were pro- 
tested, and returned in the spring of 1837. Spe3ie 
funds were required for their payment, which the banks 
were expected to furnish. The pressure began to be 
felt in March, and rapidly progressed, until alarm and 
consternation pervaded every department of business. 
Early in May, the President was waited upon by a 
committee from the city of New York, who requested 
him to rescind the specie circular, to delay the collec- 
tion of the bonds given for duties, and to call an extra 
session of Cono;ress, The delay asked for was imme- 
diately assented to ; but the other requests were not 
granted. Two days after the decision of the President 
was made known in New York, the banks in that citv 
suspended specie payments. Their example w^as soon 
followed throughout the whole Union. An extra session 
was now rendered absolutely necessary. Public officers 
w^ere prohibited by law, from receiving or paying out 
bank notes not convertible into current coin, on the 
demand of the holder, at the place where they were 
received, and from making deposits in banks not paying 
specie. The funds of the government previously re- 
ceived were deposited with the banks, and therefore 
entirely unavailable. On the 15th of May, therefore, 
the proclamation of Mr. Van Buren was issued, sum- 
moning Congress to meet on the ensuing 4th day of 
September. 

In 1835, a proposition for the entire separation of the 
government from the banks was presented in Congress, 
but did not meet the approbation of members. At that 
earlv day, both Mr. Van Buren and Mr. Wright were 



118 THE INDEPENDENT TREASURY. 

deeply impressed with the belief that there was no ne 
cessity for the connection which had formerly existed. 
Yet the business relations of the country were such, 
and public opinion was so firmly fixed in its favor, that 
it was not then thought expedient to propose a change. 
But now that the failure of the banks to fulfil their 
functions as the fiscal ao;ents of the treasury, had dis- 
solved the connection, the question arose — whether it 
should be renewed ? After the proclamation of the 
President appeared, the desire to know what were the 
views and plans of the administration was increased. 
The suspense daily grew more painful and exciting. 
Fear and uncertainty prevailed on every hand. Rumor 
was busy with her tliousand tongues, devising strange 
tales and inventions. In the midst of the anxiety, the 
plan of an Independent Treasury was shadowed forth 
in the columns of a leading democratic paper in the 
vicinity of Mr. Wright's residence. None doubted 
from whence that voice proceeded. The tone and the 
manner were recognized far and near. Some ap- 
proved ; while others feared, and condemned. The 
few who had long thought the separation inevitable, 
hailed the project as the omen of hope and encourage- 
ment; but the many looked upon it as the darkling 
cloud, ready to burst in its fury, over the angry waters 
now surging and tossing in madness and rage. 

The extra session of Congress was awaited with in- 
tense interest. The whig party, by which name the 
opponents of the administration were then known, had 
evinced their decided hostility to the financial scheme 
in contemplation. A large number of the supporters 
of Mr. Van Buren also, and especially those connected 
with mercantile and banking operations, who felt — 
honestly felt — that their interests would be endanojered, 



EXTRA SESSION. 119 

were opposed to the measure. Others, too timid to 
strike out in advance of public sentiment, but waiting 
to be borne along on the wave, hoped that it would not 
be urged. The message appeared; and the President 
distinctly and explicitly announced his opposition to 
the establishment of a national bank, and to the re- 
newal of the connection between the government and 
the banks. Mr. Wright was indefatigable in preparing 
the several bills upon which it was desired to obtain 
the action of Congress, in order that the session might 
not be unduly protracted. On the 11th of September, 
he reported from the committee on finance, a bill to 
postpone the payment to the states of the fourth instal- 
ment of the surplus placed on deposit, which was sub- 
sequently passed by Congress, with an amendment, 
changing the time to which the postponement was 
made. On the following day he introduced bills to 
authorize the issue of treasury notes ; to provide for 
the adjustment of the claims against the deposit banks ; 
and to postpone the collection of duty bonds. The bill 
in relation to treasury notes authorized the issue of an 
amount not exceeding ten millions of dollars. It en- 
countered a vehement opposition from the whig mem- 
bers of Congress, who preferred a direct loan in its 
stead. On the part of the administration it was urged, 
as being more convenient for the temporary purpose it 
was designed to serve, and as furnishing at all times 
the means of paying the obligations of the government 
in such sums as were desired. A majority approved 
of the bill, and it was passed during the session. 

On the 14th of September Mr. Wright reported the 
great measure of Mr. Van Bui. n's administration — the 
bill providing for the divorce of bank and state. As 
originally presented by him, the bill contained no pro- 



120 THE SPECIE CLAUSE. 

vision in regard to the character of tlie funds which 
should be received in payment of government dues. 
In the course of the debate on the treasury note bill, 
Mr. Calhoun, who had indicated a disposition to offer 
that support to the administration v>hich was after- 
wards rendered, expressed his fears that there existed a 
design to restore the connection with the banks. Mr. 
Wright, though never assuming to speak for others be- 
sides himself, positively and unequivocally disavowed 
any such intention on his part ; and on the third of 
October the bill was amended, with his vote, by adding 
the specie clause proposed by Mr. Calhoun. The 
amendment contemplated the gradual collection of 
government duties, in what Mr. Wright, Mr. Benton, 
and Mr. Calhoun, insisted was the onlv constitutional 
currency of the country ; and was adopted by a vote 
of twenty-four to twenty-three. Mr. Wright was in 
favor of requiring payments to be made in specie, from 
the begkining; but he desired to have the subject 
brought up as a separate proposition, yet cheerfully 
waived his own preferences, vv'hen his friends offered 
to incorporate the feature with the independent treas- 
ury bill. 

The opponents of the separation denounced the bill, 
as originating in a design to overthrow the banking in- 
stitutions of the country ; to unite the purse and the 
sword in the hands of the President ; and to establish 
a hard-money government. Its advocates supported it, 
as the best and most feasible mode of collecting and 
disbursing the public revenues, and as placing the funds 
of the government beyond the reach of danger from 
the convulsions and exigencies of trade, w^hich had re- 
cently ])roved so disastrous. While Congress was in 
session, a number of memorials were presented in favor 



SPE-'IAL DEPOSIT SYSTEM. 121 

of chartering a national bank. A resolution was re- 
ported by Mr. Wright, from the committee on finance, 
declaring; that " the prayer of the memoriaHsts ousht 
not to be granted ;" which passed the vSenate by a vote 
of thirty-one to fourteen. The House of Representatives 
also decided against a bank, bv the strong; vote of one 
hundred and twenty-three to ninety-one. These votes 
decided the question as to the re-charter of a national 
institution ; but a proposit'on offered by Mr. Rives, and 
advocated by himself, Mr. Talh'nado;e, and the other 
members of Congress who had before supported the 
administration, but were opposed to the independent 
treasury, providing for the establishment of a special 
deposit system, was regarded with more favor. This 
plan contemplated a return to that which had just 
failed, but with such modifications and restrictions as, 
it was alleged, would prevent any improper use of the 
government funds. The democratic members of Con- 
gress who favored this project were styled conserv- 
atives, and a large portion of them afterwards united 
with the opposition. The vote in the Senate on Mr. 
Rives' project was twenty-two in favor, to twenty-six 
against it. The independent treasury bill was then 
passed, on the 4th of October — yeas twenty-six, nays 
twenty. On the 14ih of the same month the bill was 
laid on the table in the House by a vote of one hun- 
dred and nineteen to one hundred and seven ; and 
Congress soon after adjourned. 

At the regular session commencing in December 1837, 
Mr. Wright again reported the independent treasury 
bill, with the specie clause. The act which he had 
drawn up v/as also more complete in its details, than 
that presented at the extra session. The one previously 
introduced, had constituted each officer a receiver ; 

6 



122 THE I331TE. 

but this proposed the appointment of persons, to be 
charged with the special duty of keeping and paying 
out the public funds. This provision was intended to 
obviate the objection which had been raised, that the 
administration was desirous of estabhshins; an armv of 
office-holders, who would have the means of the gov- 
ernment at their disposal. Severe penalties were also 
prescribed, for any neglect of duty, or breach of trust ; 
and every precaution taken to provide against losses. 
The opponents of the measure were free to admit that, 
waiving the principle upon which the bill was founded, 
nothing could be better calculated to carry into effect 
the object had in view. Mr. Wright made several able 
speeches while this question was agitated in Congress; 
but that delivered on the 31st of January, 1838, prob- 
ably exceeded them all. In his speech on that occa- 
sion, he reviewed the whole subject of the collection, 
keeping, and disbursement of the public revenue. He 
avowed it as his firm and settled conviction, that the 
state banks could not be relie I upon as the fiscal agents 
of the government ; for the reason that, as state insti- 
tutions, Congress would be unable to exercise that con- 
trol over them which was absolutely requisite. He 
also declared that there could be no middle ground — 
that a system based on the principles of the bill before 
the Senate must be established, or they would be com- 
pelled to resort to a national bank. The bill reported 
by Mr. Wright was discussed for a long time in the 
Senate, and on the 24th of March the specie clause 
was stricken out — yeas thirty-one, nays fourteen. Sev- 
eral of the democratic senators voted for the motion, 
hi obedience to the instructions of their stite Lesisla- 
tures. Mr. Wright, with Mr. Benton and Mr. Calhoun, 
resisted it to the end. On the 26th the bill passed the 



INDEPENDENT TREASURY ESTABLISHED. 123 

Senate by a vote of twenty-seven to twenty-five. 
Like its predecessor, this bill was laid upon the table 
in the House — yeas one hundred and six, nays ninety- 
eight — the whigs and conservatives voting for +he 
motion. At the next session, in 1838-39, Mr. Wright 
again brought forward the independent treasury pro- 
ject, without the specie clause, in the hope of securing 
a favorable vote, as some law on the subject was 
deemed necessary ; but it was a third time defeated. 
The elections for members of the twenty-sixth Con- 
gress, however, terminated in the choice of a reliable 
majority for the administration, in the House of Repre- 
sentatives ; and soon after the commencement of its 
first session, Mr. Wright brought forward a bill estab- 
lishing the system which he had so earnestly advocated 
since the extra session in 1837. The specie clause 
\yas added, with his vote, and in that shape it passed 
the Senate. On the 1st of July, 1840, a final vote was 
taken on the bill in the House, which resulted in its 
passage — yeas one hundred and twenty-four, nays one 
hundred and seven. The law thus enacted was known, 
by its title, as " An act to provide for the collection, 
safe-keeping, transfer and disbursement, of the public 
revenue." 

The various bills introduced in the Senate, during 
the administration of Mr. Van Buren, which were de- 
signed to protect the settlers on the public lands ; to 
graduate the prices of the latter; and to secure the 
rights of pre-emption, received the cordial and hearty 
support of Mr. Wright. At the session of Congress 
commencing in December 1837, the subject of slavery 
in the District of Columbia, was brought up in the 
Senate. On the 10th of January, 1838, Mr. Wright 
voted, with Mr. Clay and others, in favor of a resolu- 



124 SLAVERY IN THE TERRITORIES. 

tion, declaring that any interference, on the part of 
the citizens of other states, with slavery in the district, 
endangered the rights of the citizens of such district, 
violated the implied faith in which the cession was 
made by Maryland and Virginia, and would disturb 
and endanger the Union. Mr. Rives offered a similar 
resolution, on the 11th of the same month, in regard to 
slavery in the territories, which also declared that the 
people of those territories, when applying for admission, 
would have the exclusive right to determine the question 
for themselves. Mr. Wright voted against this resolu- 
tion ; but supported one offered by Mr. Clay, affirming 
that it would be injudicious to interfere with slavery 
in the territories ; that such interference would be a 
violation of faith towards those who had been permit- 
ted to settle, and hold slaves there ; and that the in- 
habitants would be exclusively entitled to decide the 
question, when admitted into the Union. Mr. Preston, 
of South Carolina, offered a resolution, at this session, 
asserting that the original boundary of Texas was the 
Rio Grande, previous to its cession to Spain ; that it 
was unwise to cede it ; and that it was desirable to re- 
annex it, when it could be done with the consent of 
Texas, and consistent with the treaties, stipulations, 
and faith of the United States. The resolution was 
taken up for consideration on the 14th of June, and 
finally disposed of by a motion to lay it upon the table. 
The vote stood twenty-four for the motion, and four- 
teen against it. Mr. Wright voted with Mr. Clay, Mr. 
Buchanan, and Mr. Webster, for the motion. It was 
opposed by Mr. Benton, Mr. Calhoun, and Mr. Preston. 
In 1838, Mr. Wright warmly urged the passage of a 
bill, which he had introduced, to revoke the charters of 
the banks in the District of Columbia, provided they 



NORTHERN BOUNDARY QUESTION. 125 

d'lQ not resume specie payments by the 1st of May in 
that year. He also proposed to prohibit the issue and 
circulation of small bills in the district — believing that 
stringent measures of that character were required, in 
order to protect the people from imposition and fraud. 
On the 16th of May, 1838, he delivered one of his most 
elaborate speeches in the Senate, on a joint resolution 
prescribing the funds to be received for government 
dues, and advocated a return to a specie currency, as 
the only one known to the constitution. 

At the close of the session in the spring of 1839, the 
difficulties on the northern frontier growing out of the 
unsettled state of the boundary question, assumed a 
threatening aspect. A general feeling prevailed in 
Congress in favor of maintaining the cautious and de- 
cided stand of the administration. The task of its de- 
fence, therefore, on the part of the democratic senators, 
was comparatively light and easy. The unanimity of 
feeling that existed, may be understood by referring to 
the iact, that in March, 1839, Congress placed a large 
sum of money at the disposal of the President, and au- 
thorized him to call out fifty thousand volunteers, if he 
judged it expedient for the defence of the country, 
without scarcely a show of opposition. The vote in 
the Senate was unanimous, and there were but six nays 
in the House. 

On his route home in March, 1839, Mr. Wright 
passed through Harrisburg, and was invited to a public 
dinner by the democratic members of the Legislature 
of Pennsylvania. A similar invitation was tendered 
to him in the city of New York. Both invitations 
were declined. It was very grateful to his feelings 
to be singled out as the object of attention and re- 
gard, on the part of his fellow-citizens; though the 



126 BANKRUPT LAW PASSED. 

opinions he entertained forbade his acceptance of the 
civilities thus tendered. 

The commercial disasters of 1837, had reduced a 
large number of persons throughout the Union, to what 
they regarded as hopeless and irretrievable insolvency. 
Relief was earnestly besought for them, by the passage 
of a law to enable them to have outstanding debts en- 
tirely cancelled. Petitions for the enactment of a 
bankrupt law were presented to Congress, and at the 
session of 1839-40, a bill was introduced in the Senate. 
Mr. Van Buren had formerly recommended the pas- 
sage of a law of that character, applicable to banks 
and bankers. Mr. Wright was in favor of that propo- 
sition, and he also supported the bill before the Senate ; 
which contained both the compulsory and the volun- 
tary feature, or, in other words, combined the princi- 
ples of an insolvent with a bankrupt law. Mr. Clay 
made a motion to strike out the compulsory clause, 
which Mr. Wright opposed. The bill passed the Sen- 
ate on the 25th of June, 1840, but was laid on the 
table in the House. 

Mr. Van Buren was unanimously nominated in 1840, 
as the democratic candidate for President, and General 
Harrison, of Ohio, vv^as selected as his opponent. The 
canvass was animated and exciting, but the ultimate 
result did not long remain in doubt. Mr. Wright made 
a number of powerful and effective speeches, at New 
York and other places, during the electioneering cam- 
paign, and was everywhere listened to with interest 
and deli2;ht. But all the efforts of the able and tal- 
ented men who gallantly defended the administration, 
proved unavailing. The pecuniary reverses of 1837, 
were still seriously felt ; confidence was not entirely 
restored ; and a change afforded some hope of relief. 



COURSE OF THE CONSERVATIVES. 127 

A majority of the conservatives united with the oppo- 
sition ; of the remainder, some stood aloof from the 
contest ; others yielded a lukewarm and reluctant sup- 
port to Mr. Van Buren ; and others again, generously 
and manfully aided to secure his re-election. The se- 
vere measures which it had been found necessary to 
employ in order to preserve the neutrality of the coun- 
try, during the outbreak and insurrection in Canada, 
had alienated manv of the citizens along the northern 
frontier from the administration which they had onc3 
supported. The banking institutions of the country, 
too, were far from being friendly to the President. 
The measures he had recommended, and vvhich Mr. 
Wright and others had advocated in Congress, were 
believed to indicate a feeling of hostility towards them; 
and the remarks of many of the most prominent ad- 
ministration journals, had the tendency to strengthen 
that impression. This feeling was, to a great extent, 
erroneous, although Mr. V/right most certainly believed 
that there were manv defects in the banking svstem 
which required correction. To banks, as s,uch, he was 
not opposed — but he did not hesitate to condemn the 
abuses which had been committed, under the cover 
and protection of chartered rights and privileges. 

Mr. Van Buren was defeated. Notwithstanding 
every effort, his opponent was elected by an unusually 
large majority. The people had spoken, and it but re- 
mained to register their decree. When Congress met in 
December, little was to be done, except to render an 
account of the manner in which the government had 
been administered, during a season of continued excite- 
ment, of constant agitation in the money market, and 
embarrassment in all the business relations of the 
country. The iViends of the in-coming administration, 



128 PUBLIC DEBT. 

however, began to discover that it was much easier 
to criticize, than to correct — to point out an evil, than 
to provide a remedy. They had the power in their 
hands, and knew that they could overturn and destroy ; 
but it was for the future to determine whether thev 
would be able to build up and restore. They foresaw 
the difficulties in their wav, and were anxious to avoid 
them. The feeling in favor of exorbitant appropria- 
tions, which had originated in a large surplus, and 
w^hich had proved so disastrous to Mr. Van Buren, who 
attempted in vain to control it, might prove equally as 
unfortunate to his successors. It was then rumored that 
a large debt would be left upon their hands, for which 
they must provide the means of payment. Inquiries 
were made in the Senate, and among others, Mr. Web- 
ster demanded to know the condition of the treasury 
and the amount of the debt. On the 17th of Decem- 
ber, Mr. Wright replied, by pointing out the erroneous 
character of the estimates which had been made, and 
showing that a large mass of claims, never recognized 
by Congress or the Government, and the treasury notes 
issued to supply those which had been returned and 
cancelled, were added to the actual debt of five mil- 
lions of dollars, including the notes originally put in 
circulation, in order to make up the array of figures 
which had excited so much alarm. He also referred to 
the allected necessitv of caliinor an extra session of 
Congress, for which the existing administration would 
be held responsible ; and said, that, so far as he was 
concerned, " he should do everything in his power to 
obviate any such necessity ; and to accomplish that 
object with the greatest certainty, he should use his 
utmost endeavors to keep the appropriations of this 
session within the anticipated means of the year 1841. 



DEATH OF HARRISON. 129 

He believed the estimates supplied all the necessary 
wants, and he intended to adhere to them strictly. 
Having done so, he should cheerfully leave it to those 
who had been placed in power by a triumphant ex- 
pression of the popular voice, to call a Congress when 
they pleased, and to recommend such measures as they 
pleased." This pledge, thus publicly made, was re- 
ligiously fulfilled on the part of Mr. Wright. But a 
portion of his political friends thought proper to unite 
with the opposition, in voting appropriations which he 
believed w^ere both unnecessary and unwise. By con- 
necting them with the regular supply bills, the President 
was compelled either to approve, or to leave the gov- 
ernment entirely without the means of support. Mr. 
Wright was still of the opinion, that an extra session 
was uncalled for, except it were to adopt measures and 
projects not connected with the payment of the public 
debt. The successor of Mr. Van Bjr^n thousjht differ- 
ently, and soon after his inauguration a proclamation 
was issued, requiring Consress to convene on the 31st 
of May. 

At the election in 1840, the whig party had chosen 
a large majority of the m3mbers of Congress, and they 
never doubted their ability to enact such laws as would 
be agreeable to their wishss. Bat how delusive are 
human expectations — how transitory all the things of 
this world ! On the 4th of ?vlarch, 1841, General Har- 
rison stood uncovered, in the capitol of the nation, 
with thousands upon thousands of his fellow-citizens 
around him, and took that solemn oath to administer 
the government in accordance with the constitution 
and the laws. Oq the 4th of April, he lay cold and 
lifeless in the executive mansion. The period of his 
administration was over. The same streets along 

6* 



130 MEASURES OF THE WHIG PARTY. 

which he had passed, but a few days before, receiving 
the voluntary homage of a free people welcoming the 
Chief Magistrate of their choice, witnessed another 
and a sadder pageant. The shouts of the multitude, 
the swelling notes of martial music, the waving plumes, 
and the gay trappings, gave place to the mournful 
lamentation, the low tones of the mufflad drum, the 
black pall, and the funeral hearse. The opening of the 
month was brio;ht and cheerincr — its close was dark 
and dreary. It was like a day in the early spring. 
The sun rose in joy and gladness, in its unclouded 
majesty and splendor — it set in sorrow and gloom ! 

The national Congress assembled at Washington. 
The objects of the extra session were now made known. 
Four prominent measures were brought forward — a bill 
authorizing a loan of twelve millions of dollars ; a bank- 
rupt law divested of the severe compulsory provisions 
which Mr. Wright had advocated ; the distribution of the 
proceeds of the public lands ; and the incorporation of a 
national bank. Mr. Wright was succeeded in the com- 
mittee on finance by Mr. Clay, and placed upon those on 
commerce and claims. The whio;s had a 2:allant and 
fearless leader at their head, in whom all confidence was 
placed. The plans he recommended were instantly 
adopted. The independent treasury law was repealed 
on the 9th of June. On the 18th of August a bankrupt 
law was passed, in opposition to the vote of Mr. Wright ; 
only to be repealed by the same Congress, in less than 
two years from the date of its enactment. The loan bill 
also became a law, though Mr. Wright and others earn- 
estly recommended a temporary resort to treasury notes. 
The project of Mr. Clay for the distribution of the pro- 
ceeds of the public lands was then taken up. The demo- 
cratic senators opposed it, on the ground that it was the 



^> 



VETO OF THE BANK BILLS. 131 

assumption of the debts of the several states in a dis- 
guised form ; that it was impohtic in the existing con- 
dition of the treasury, to surrender so large a portion 
of the annual revenue ; and that the bill was designed 
to create a necessity for a high protective tariff. The 
last objection was so evident, that a number of the 
whigs united with Mr. Wright and his friends in insert- 
ing a provision, declaring that the distribution should 
cease whenever the average rate of duties collected 
exceeded twenty per cent. This clause prevented the 
bill from ever being carried into effect. A bill for the 
incorporation of a national bank also passed the Senate ; 
the democratic members remaining firm in their oppo- 
sition. It received a favorable vote in the House, and 
was presented to Mr. Tyler, who, as Vice President, 
had succeeded General Harrison in the executive 
chair. A suspicion had for some time been gaining 
ground, that the state rights doctrines of the President, 
and the views entertained by the leading politicians of 
the state of Virginia, which he had been known to 
favor when in Congress, might produce a d vision in 
the ranks of the whig party. The bill was v»;toed, and 
the fears of its advocates were increased. But the 
manly form of their distinguished champion was still 
recognized by its proud bearing amid the surrounding 
confusion. He was a host in himself, and so long as 
he was disposed to struggle, they hoped that all would 
yet be well. A second bill was presented to Congress, 
and adopted by the votes of the whig members. Great 
care had been taken to avoid what were said to be the 
constitutional objections of Mr. Tyler ; and the ap- 
parent object was only to establish a fiscal agent for the 
treasury, and provide a moneyed circulation of uniform 
value throughout the states. Another veto followed, 



132 RETIREMENT OF MR. CLAY. 

and the whig party was thrust out of power, by the 
very hand they had raised to protect and defend it. 
They possessed a numerical majority in the National 
Legislature — but they had no President. 

Congress adjourned in confusion, and the cabinet 
was dissolved. At the regular session in December, 
1841, Mr. Clay again appeared; but was unwilling to 
assume the position he had occupied on the committee 
on finance. He was succeeded by Mr. Evans, of 
Maine. The experience, industry, and ability of JMr. 
Wright, in examining, arranging, and determining, the 
large number of claims presented to Congress, were so 
universally conceded, that he was retained on that 
committee. He was also re-appointed a member of the 
committee on commerce. Early in the session, Mr. 
Clay introduced a series of resolutions, declaratory of 
his views in regard to the revenues and expenditures 
of the government. He avovv^ed himself friendlv to 
the general principles of the compromise act ; but he 
desired that a sufficient amount of revenue should be 
raised from the customs, to support the government ; 
that the land fund should be surrendered to the states ; 
and that the proviso in the distribution act should be 
repealed. His friends in the Senate supported the res- 
olutions, but Mr. Wright and the democratic senators 
opposed them, for the same reasons which had influ- 
enced them in resisting the policy of distribution, from 
the outset. For several years, Mr. Clay and P>Ir. 
Wright had been placed as competitors against each 
other, in all the prominent debates in the Senate. But 
during all that time, each had preserved towards the 
other the most marked courtesy and respect. Mr. Clay 
resigned his seat on the 31st of March, to retire to 
private life. The leave-taking with his old associates 



\ »\ 



THE LOAN BILL. 133 

was painful and affecting : — but how much more sad 
would it have been, had he known that it was his last 
parting for this world with his friend — for they were 
friends in the midst of violent party excitement — with 
his friend Silas Wriirht. 

The depression in trade had reduced the imports of 
1841 to such an extent, that the public revenues had 
materially diminished, and it became necessary to pro- 
vide means for the relief of the treasury. The loan 
authorized at the extra session had not been made, on 
account of the difficulty of disposing of the stock upon 
the conditions prescribed in the bill ; which contained 
a proviso forbidding any sales below par. The diffi- 
culty, as alleged by the democratic senators, originated 
in the general impression entertained among capitalists, 
that the government had unwisely yielded up the land 
revenues, in prospective, when they would be needed 
for its support ; but Mr. Evans reported a bill from the 
committee on finance, authorizing, among other things, 
the stock " to be disposed of at the highest price" which 
the secretary of the treasury could obtain for the sam_e. 
On the Sth of April, Mr. Wright- gave his views, at 
length, in opposition to the bill. He stated his willing- 
ness to vote for the necessary supplies, but he could not 
approve of the measure under consideration, and it 
should not receive his vote. The foreign relations of 
the country v/ere far from being peaceful, and he did 
not think that such was the time to offer " the very 
standard of American credit for sale in the markets of 
the world." He advised the government to call back 
the land fund ; to increase it by pre-em.ption and grad- 
uation bills ; and to offer new lands for sale. " If," 
said he, " these things cannot be done, follow the noble 
example of New York ; lay taxes, direct or indirect, or 



134 BILL TO RESTORE JACKSON*S FINE. 

both; stop expenditure beyond the means which the 
lands and the customs will supply ; fund the outstanding 
treasury notes as you propose to do, in this bill, and 
wait until the money market shall improve, or until 
you can realize an adequacy of means from your im- 
proved revenues. Again I say, do anything, do nothing, 
rather than propose to sell your credit in the open 
market, /or what it may bring." 

At this session, a bill was proposed, which proved 
unsuccessful, to restore the fine of one thousand dollars 
imposed on General Jackson at New Orleans in 1815, 
together with the interest from the time of its payment. 
During the debate, Mr. Conrad, of Louisiana, who had 
opposed the bill, recommended the passage of a resolu- 
tion to procure a painting representing the scene, and 
hang it in the capitol, in which the victorious general 
should appear bowing himself to the majesty of the 
law, that the exigency of the case had compelled him 
to violate. Mr. Wright advocated the passage of the 
bill, and in his speech alluded to the suggestion of the 
senator from Louisiana, in a strain of manly eloquence 
He said :— 

" Sir, such a picture would be a proud one for the 
country, and especially for that distinguished general ; 
and I should rejoice to see it gracing the capitol of the 
nation. But will you write beneath it, ' We gained a 
thousand dollars to the public treasury by this operation, 
which has paid for this picture ?* Will you hang the proud 
national emblem aloft in this marble palace, and invoke 
towards it the attention and admiration of all succeed- 
ing ages ; and, in the very mom.ent when you do so, 
make up a record upon your journal here, which must 
either disgrace the general, whose gallant services and 
patriotic forbearance gave the sketch for the painting, 



APPORTIONxMENT BILL. 135 

or must disgrace the country he so faithfully and dis- 
interestedly served ? The general, by his wisdom and 
valor, defended, with a handful of undisciplined militia, 
one of your proudest cities against a veteran enemy of 
many times his numbers. In doing so, he had, in the 
opinion of a judge and a lawyer, committed a technical 
breach of the law, and been guilty of a technical con- 
tempt of court. He was arraigned by the precise 
judge for his offence ; and within the very bounds of 
his military camp, in the hour of his proud victory, and 
in the presence of his gallant companions in arms, and 
of thousands of his indignant countrymen, he unresist- 
ingly permitted himself to be led to the bar of the court 
as a criminal, and there received the sentence of the 
law, and paid this thousand dollars as the penalty for 
the offence charged against him ; not a human being 
then, or since, questioning the purity of his intentions, 
or the wisdom of his acts. This is the event, it is said, 
we should commemorate by a national painting ; and 
yet we are urged to refuse to refund the penalty thus 
incurred in our service ; or, if we do refund it, to say, 
as part of the act, that it was worthily imposed. Will 
we, can we, do this ? No, sir, no. The heart of every 
man who occupies a seat here will tell him that he can- 
not do it ; that he cannot vote for such a memorial to 
national honor and private merit, and place his vote at 
the foot of such a record." 

The subject of the division of the several states into 
single congressional districts was also brought forward 
in the session of 1841-42, and a provision inserted in the 
apportionment bill which passed both Houses of Con- 
gress. Mr. Wright opposed the bill, on the ground that 
it was subversive of the rights of the states, and assumed 
to control and dictate the action of their Legislatures. 



136 OBJECTIONS TO THE MEASURE. 

He addressed the Senate at various stages of the bill, 
and in h s final speech presented the following summary 
of his positions : — 

*' Passing the other arguments by which this novel 
enactment is attempted to be sustained, I wish to 
bring the Senate, for one moment, to the consideration 
of the great interests — I may almost say, in a political 
sense, estates — involved in this action. 

" The first in the constitutional order, was the peo- 
ple of the respective states, to whom the right of electing 
representatives to the Congress was expressly reserved. 

" The second was the Legislatures of the states, upon 
which the dutv was devolved, in the absence of anv 
action on the part of Congress, to prescribe the regula- 
tions necessary to enable the people to exercise this 
great constitutional right. 

*' The third was. Congress, upon which a discretion- 
ary power was conferred to make these regulation?;, if 
the states did not, or to alter the regulations which the 
states might have made. 

" The first (the people) have thus far enjoyed their 
great right under the regulations of the states — -and 
that, too, without injury or complaint. 

" The second (the states) have acted under the consti- 
tution, and performed the duty enjoined upon them, in 
a w^ay to preserve tfie right of the people and its prac- 
tical and beneficial exercise. 

" The third (Congress) now comes in, and proposes, 
not to make regulations by its own action — not by its 
own action to alter the regulations which the states 
have made — ^but to prescribe certain rules by which 
the Legislatures of the states shall alter their own 
regulations! 

" Congress admits its want of power to compel the 



SINGLE DISTRICT SYSTEM. 137 

State Legislatures to comply with its prescription, and 
alter their regulations to conform to it. And how does 
it propose to attempt coercion upon them ? By abridg- 
ing any of their powers or privileges ? No ; but by 
forfeiting this great right of the people of the state to 
elect representatives, if their Legislature do not comply. 

" Thus the fault is to be either in Congress, or in 
the state Legislature. The people can coerce neither ; 
and yet the forfeiture for the fault is to be visited upon 
the only innocent party of the three — the people, who 
cannot make the regulations, and whose most essential 
right is to be forfeited if they are not made. Was such 
action, on the part of Congress, constitutional, or wise, 
or expedient ? To his mind, it was neither." 

By the provisions of the apportionment bill, the state 
Legislatures were required to district their respective 
states ; and if not so districted, it was contended that 
they should not be represented. Mr. Wright conceded 
the power in Congress of making any division it saw 
fit, or of altering such as might be made by any state 
Legislature ; but he denied the right to prescribe to 
the states what laws they should enact. In one of his 
speeches he stated, that he was ignorant as to what 
would be the course of the Legislature of New York 
under such an enactment. His colleague, Mr. Tall- 
madge, who had been re-elected in 1840, by the then 
whig Legislature, referred to this admission of Mr. 
Wright, in his remarks on the bill, as casting a " blot 
upon the escutcheon of the state." After the separa- 
tion of the former gentleman from the democratic 
party, Mr. Wright studiously avoided any collision or 
dispute with him upon the floor of the Senate in re- 
gard to the state they represented. But to such an 
attack he felt bound to reply. He said that " he would 



133 REVISION OF THE TARIFF. 

net undertake to say whether it was his fault, or his 
misfortune, that he could not look into futurity and tell 
what would be the actions of men hereafter ; but the 
fact was so. He did not know, and therefore could 
not tell ; and if that was to be charged against him as 
an offence, or a dishonor to the state, he could only say 
that it proceeded from the mistake of his respected and 
intelligent constituents in sending so ignorant a repre- 
sentative there. The same senator," he continued, 
" had assumed that by his declaration, he had dishon- 
ored the memories of the Hamiltons, and Livingstons, 
and Clintons, and Tompkinses of their state. The 
memories of all the patriots and statesmen of New 
York, of the present and of former days, ought to be 
dear to him, and he thought they were so ; and while 
he could scarcely hope to avoid reflecting dishonor 
upon them, by the inadequacy of his powers to dis- 
charge in a manner worthy of their memories the high 
and responsible duties pertaining to his present station, 
he would say to his colleague, that to a man who had 
drunk less deeply from the political doctrines of the 
Hamiltons of New York, and more deeply from those 
of her Livingstons, and Clintons, and Tompkinses, the 
idea would never have occurred that opposition to this 
provision of this bill was placing a blot upon the clear 
escutcheon of that proud democratic state." 

Another important question presented to the twenty- 
seventh Congress, at its first regular session, was that 
of revising the compromise act. On the 30th day of 
June, 1842, the minimum was to be reached. No duty 
exceeding twenty per cent, was to be collected after 
that date ; and then, unless Congress should make 
some different provision, the distribution act would go 
into effect. It was doubted, whether duties could be 



i 



THE PROVrSIONAL TARIFF. 139 

collected subsequent to that day, unless a law was 
passed authorizing it to be done ; and whether the com- 
promise act would have any fore 3 whatsoever, except as 
fixing a maximum standard to govern the legislation of 
Congress. A provisional tariff bill was therefore passed, 
extending the compromise act to the 1st of August, 
1842, and requiring duties to be collected ot the same 
rates as were collectable on the 1st of June. The 
bill also postponed the distribution of the proceeds of 
the public lands ; but the principle was not surrendered, 
and Mr. Wright therefore voted against it. The Pres- 
ident did not approve it, and it was returned with his 
objections. A general bill was then framed, with in- 
creased rates of duties, averaging nearly forty per cent., 
but containing a section repealing the proviso in the 
distribution act. Mr. Wright voted to strike out the 
objectionable clause ; but it was retained, and a second 
veto was the consequence. A great deal of confusion 
existed in Congress, and much angry feeling was nian- 
ifested towards the President. But it was necessary 
to have some revenue law, and it was satisfactorily 
demonstrated that a tariff averaging twenty per cent, 
would not be sufficient to meet the expenses of the gov- 
ernment. The whigs had the control in Congress, and 
they were expected to devise a plan to supply the treas- 
ury. They were unwilling to yield the principle of dis- 
tribution, and Mr. Tyler refused to sign any bill that 
contained it. Efforts were then made to prepare a tariff 
not exceeding twenty per cent., by taxing tea, coffee, 
and other articles, which it was supposed would yield 
a large amount of revenue. By enacting such a law 
the proviso of the distribution act would have been 
satisfied, and the law be permitted to go into operation. 
The duty on tea and coffee was opposed by a large 



140 TARIFF BILL PASSED. 

majority of the democratic members of Congress, and 
by a sufficient number of the whigs to prevent its in- 
sertion. Mr. Wright was uniformly opposed to this 
duty, and voted against a bill proposed by Mr. Rives 
in the Senate, which he preferred in other respects, 
because it contained that provision. 

The law, known as the tariff act of 1842, was finally 
prepared. The average rate of duties fixed by this 
bill was about th;rty-two per C3nt. Many of its pro- 
visions Mr. Wright believed to be unjust and unequal, 
and he subsequently pointed them out, in an able speech 
on the subject, delivered in the Senate in 1844.* But 
the country was rapidly augmenting her debt, and 
Congress was about to ad'ourn without providing the 
means for its support. The principle of distributimi, 
after a long struggle to retain it, was surrendered ; and 
that was something gained. The bill came to a final 
vote in the Senate on the 27th of August. It had 
passed the House by one majority. The senators were 
known to be nearly divided in their opinions, and every- 
thing depended on a single vote. That vote — the vote 
of Mr. Wrighi — saved the bill. He gave it with re- 
luctance, and before announcing it, he stated the rea- 
sons which had induced him to separate himself, on 
this occasion, from his party friends ; all of whom, 
with the exception of Mr. Buchanan and Mr. Sturgeon, 
of Pennsylvania, and Mr. Williams, of Maine, voted 
against the bill. The government was in a perilous 
condition, and he was not willing to adjourn without 
affording relief. The bill was objectionable, but he 
trusted to see it amended under more favorable aus- 
pices. " The treasury," said he, " is empty ; and al- 
most daily the public creditors are turned away from 

♦ See Appendix. 



THE VOTE OF MR. WRIGHT. 141 

it without paymsnt. This very Congress has increased, 
and is daily increasing the public expenditures, and 
thus creating the necessity for increased revenues. 
And the public credit is not sinking, but sunken ; so 
that loans, at high interest and at long time, cannot 
be negotiated at home or abroad, upon the declared 
reason that we have not revenues to meet the pnyment 
of the public Habilities. These changes of circumstan- 
ces constituted, in his mind, the highest necessity for a 
revenue law, and forced upon him, under the most 
solemn sense of public duty, the course of action which 
he proposed to pursue. All he could ask of the iriends 
who should differ from him, and believe him to be still 
in error, was, that they would believe him to be gov- 
erned by pure motives ; and if in error, to be honestly 
so. He owed it to those friends, as well as to himself, 
to make another remark ; which was, that the con- 
sequences of his action, if evil, should be visited upon 
himself alone ; as no friend, here or elsewhere, had inter- 
fered to bring him to the conclusion he had pronounced. 
Many very dear friends, whose judgments, upon almost 
all occasions, he valued more highly than his own, had 
kindly attempted to convince him that he was in error 
— not one to urge him to give the vote." 

Several of the democratic senators, who spoke pre- 
vious to the passage of the bill, expressed their regret 
that Mr. Wright was about to give his vote in its favor. 
But not one doubted the purity of his motives, or re- 
proached him for supporting it. They saw that the 
sacrifice pained him deeply ; that if the bill could have 
passed without his vote, he would have remained with 
them in the opposition ; and they honored him for his 
manliness and independence, and respected the moral 
greatness which had dictated his course. 



142 ELECTED FOR A THIRD TERM. 

Congress re-assembled in December. But little 
business of importance was transacted at this session 
The elections in the fa.ll had jiroved disastrous to the 
whig party, and they cared not to propose any new 
maasures, for their successors to modify or overturn. 
The bp.nl:i apt law was repealed. The bill to refund 
tlie fine imposed on General Jackson was ao-ain dis- 
cussed, but did not become a law. Mr. Benton offered 
a series of resolutions against the assumption of the 
debts of the states by the General Government, for 
vv'hich Mr. Wright cheerfully voted. In the month of 
February, 1843, the latter was re-elected, for another 
term of six years, by the Legislature of New York. 
In the caucus at which he v/as nominated, the vote 
was unanimous in his favor. The idea c*'' returning 
another person to fiil the place of Silas Wright in the 
Senate was entertained by no one. 









I 



CHAPTEil YII. 

1843.— Bill Passed to Refund the Fins Imposed on General Jackson at 
New Orleans— Reduction of Postage— Notice to Terminate Joint 
Occupancy of Oregon— Tarifl' Bill of Mr. McDuSie- Able Speech of 
]Mr. Wright — Mr. Tyler's Treaty of Annexation— Original Bounda- 
ries of Texas— Cession to Spain— Eflbrts to Recover it— Mr. Wright 
Declines the Office of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court— Let- 
ters of Mr. Van Buren and Mr. Clay on Annexation — De.mo^ratic 
National Convention— Nomination of Mr. Polk— Mr. Wright Nom- 
inated as the Candidate for Vice-President— Letter of Declension- 
Reasons for the Same— Objections to the Treaty of Annexation— 
—Opinions of Mr. Wright— Rejection of the Treaty— Subsequent 
Project of Annexation— Failure of the Tariff' Bill in the House— Ad- 
journm-nt of Congress — Divisions in the Democratic Party in Nev^r 
York— Legislation of the State in regard to Internal Improvements 
—Stop and Tax Law of 1842— The People's Resolution— Different 
Factions and Interests — Attempt to bring IMr. Wright forward as a 
Candidate for Governor — His Refus il to be considered as such— The 
State Convention— Nomination of Mr. Wright — Address and Resolu- 
tions of the Convention— Letter of Acceptance— Letter on unfinished 
Canals— 1844. 

In December, 1843, the new Congress assembled. 
The Senate was still composed of a majority of vvhigs, 
but in the House the position of things was reversed. 
Ahuost the first business of the session was the passage 
of the bill to refund the fine paid by General Jackson. 
On the 8th day of January, 18 '14, being the twenty- 
ninth anniversary of the victory at New Orleans, the 
bill was finally passed in the House of Representatives, 
and on the 14tli of February, it received the concur- 
rence of the Senate. The subject of reducing the 



144 SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 

postage on letters and newspapers had been agitated 
for a long time, and at this session a law was enacted 
effecting a considerable reduction. When t!je bill was 
before the Senate, Mr. Wright endeavored to have it 
amended, by limiting the franking privilege beyond 
what was proposed ; but failing in that, he nevertheless 
gave his vote cordially in its favor. On the 21st of 
March, he voted for the joint resolution directing the 
President to communicate to the government of Great 
Britain the notice required by the existing treaty, of the 
termination of the common occupancy of the Oregon 
territory. He was always favorable to this measure, 
and anxiously desired to see the power and jurisdiction 
of the nation extended over the inhabitants of that 
remote portion of the country, for their protection and 
securitv. 

The subject of a revision of the tariff' of 1842 was 
early agitated in Congress. Mr. McDuffie introduced 
a bill proposing to reduce all duties under the law, 
which were above the rate of 20 per cent., to that rate, 
by a gradual reduction. The design of bringing for- 
ward this bill was to provoke discussion upon the sub- 
ject, and to test the feelings of senators in regard to 
the modification of the act of 1842, rather than with 
any hope of its passage. The committee on finance, to 
whom it was referred, reported it back to the Senate, 
without amendment, but accompanied with a resolu- 
tion recommending its indefinite postponement, upon 
the ground that the constitution required that all such 
bills should originate in the House of Representatives. 
Upon this resolution a lengthy discussion arose, involv- 
ing the principles of the whole tariff* question. Among 
the speakers was Mr. Wright. His speech occupiei 
two days in its delivery, and is important, not only be- 



TREATY OF ANNEXATION. 145 

cause it was the last great effort of its author on the 
floor of the Senate, but for the reason that it contains 
the matured and enhghtened opinions of an able states- 
man — opinions not formed in the heyday of youth, or 
the heat of excitement, but pondered long in the closet, 
and subjected to the rigid, and thorough examination, 
of a mind peculiarly calculated for the investigation of 
the subject to which they relate.* Men may differ 
with him in sentiment, but they must concede the 
ability with which his positions are maintained. Had 
he never uttered another svllable, there is in this one 
speech merit sufficient to secure him a proud place in 
the estimation of his countrymen. To single out any 
one part of it would be to mar the whole. It is a 
labored and complete argument, in defence, as he ex- 
presses it, of " that degree of protection which is inci- 
dent to revenue, and consistent with it," and opposed 
to the " prohibition destroying revenue, and creating 
monopoly." 

The project of annexing Texas to the United States 
w^as presented to the Senate, in a definite form, by a 
treaty submitted for its approbation, which had been 
concluded under the advice and direction of President 
Tyler on the 12th of April, 1844. The original Prov- 
ince of Texas, as described on the Atlas of Humboldt, 
and the maps of all the old geographers and travellers, 
lay between the vSabine and the lower Rio del Norte, 
or Rio Grande, and between the Gulf of Mexico and the 
Red River. This province was included in the pur- 
chase of Louisiana from France, and was ceded to 
Spain by treaty, in 1819, under the administration of 
Mr. Monroe, but in opposition to the views of Mr. 
Adams, then a member of his cabinet, and to those of 
Mr. Clay, who denounced the cession in the House of 

7 * See -Appendix. 



146 EFFORTS TO ACaUIRE TEXAS. 

Representatives. When Mr. Adams was elected to the 
presidency, and Mr. Clay appointed secretary of state, 
an effort was made to recover back the territory, but 
.he terms they offered were not satisfactory, and the 
negotiation failed. Mr. Van Buren repeated the at- 
tempt, as secretary during General Jackson's adminis- 
tration, which was in like manner unsuccessful. The 
next proposition for the annexation came from Texas 
herself, after the battle of San Jacinto. Mr. Van 
Buren was then President, but declined the proposal. 
Though she had already given evidence of her disposi- 
tion and ability to maintain her independence, a state 
of war still existed, and it was thought the annexation 
could not be effected without a breach with Mexico. 
At the session of Congress in 1837-38, Mr. Preston 
offered a resolution in the Senate in favor of recover- 
ing the country unwisely ceded to Spain, which was 
laid upon the table, as has been stated. In 1842, the 
subject was again revived by individuals owning lands 
in Texas, but resident within the United States, and by 
others who viewed with alarm the efforts in England to 
abolish slavery in that republic, for the purpose, as it 
was alleged, of injuring the cotton growers in the 
southern states belonging to the American Union. 
There were many, also, connected by the ties of kin- 
dred, or friendship, with the citizens of that country, 
who were anxious to see those for whom they enter- 
tained so much regard, sheltered with them beneath the 
same protecting aegis. The agitation of the subject 
led to the treaty of 1844. 

While the question of the annexation was being dis- 
cussed in Congress, and in the political circles at 
Washington, the office of associate justice of the 
supreme court of the United States, made vacant 



NATIONAL CONVENTIONS. 147 

by the death of Smith Thompson, of New York, in 
December 1843, was tendered to Mr. Wright, but 
declined. The motives which prompted this offer have 
often been made the subject of comment, yet it is un- 
necessary to speak of them here, except it be to re- 
mark, that no one who knew Mr. Wright, would have 
dared to encounter the indignation with which any 
proposition affecting his political integrity, or his char- 
acter as a senator, in the remotest degree, would have 
been met on his part. Almost every act of his life 
was a refutation of the infamous maxim of the cor- 
rupt Walpole. He had no price. Value was not 
attached to his honor, for it was beyond the wealth of 
worlds to purchase. A high judicial position migiit 
not, under some circumstances, have been unwelcome 
to him ; but to receive anything, from one occupying 
an equivocal relation towards the party of which he 
was a member, at a time when a favorite measure re- 
quired votes in Congress to sustain it, and without the 
known consent and approbation of the constituents to 
whom he felt so deeply indebted, was entirely out of 
the question. 

The subject of annexation was also brought to bear 
upon the presidential nominations in the spring of 
1844. Mr. Van Buren and Mr. Clay were the most 
prominent candidates of the two great parties, and both 
gentlemen were asked to make known their opinions. 
The positions assumed in their respective letters were 
nearly identical. Neither avowed any hostility to the 
immediate or ultimate annexation, provided it could be 
done in a proper manner ; but they believed its re-union 
at that juncture would, in all probability, result in a 
war with Mexico. Mr. Clay was nominated by his 
party friends, at their national convention. The 



148 NOMINATED FOR VICE PRESIDENT. 

democratic convention met at Baltimore, in May. The 
letter of Mr. Van Buren on the annexation question 
had excited considerable feeling among the friends of 
the measure, and by means of the two-third rule, which 
had been adopted in making nominations, he was de- 
feated. After several ballotings Mr. Polk was brought 
forward as a new candidate, and received the nomina- 
tion. The nomination for Vice President was then 
bestowed upon Mr. Wright by the unanimous voice 
of the convention, but entirely without his consent or 
approbation. Immediately upon receiving the intelli- 
gence, he addressed the following letter to his friend, 
Mr. Butler, by whom its contents were made known 
to the convention still in session : — 

Washington, May 29th, 1844. 

My dear sir : — Being advised that the convention of 
which you are a member has conferred upon me the 
unmerited honor of nominating me as a candidate for 
the office of Vice President, will you, if this informa- 
tion be correct, present my profound thanks to the 
convention for this mark of its confidence and favor ; 
and say for me, that circumstances, which I do not 
think it necessary to detail, but which I very briefly 
hint at to you [in another letter,] render it impossible 
that I should, consistently with my sense of public duty 
and private obligations, accept this nomination. 

I am, with great respect, your obedient servant, 

Silas Wright. 

Hon. B. F. Butler. 

The declension of Mr. Wright was followed by the 
selection of Mr. Dallas. When it was understood that 
he positively refused to accept the nomination, a feel- 



REASONS FOR HIS DECLENSION. 149 

ing of deep regret was manifested in the convention. 
His immediate friends in that body expected nothing 
less from him. The democratic electors of New York 
through their representatives in the Legislatm'e and in 
the state convention, had unanimously presented the 
name of Mr. Van Buren for the presidency. Was he 
the man then to appropriate to himself an inferior posi- 
tion, when the higher one had been refused to the candi- 
date offered in the name of his constituents ? Could he 
accept a nomination for such an office, without having 
first consulted the citizens of the state he represented ? 
In his view it was utterly impossible. Justice to them, 
justice to himself, required that such an honor should 
be sought, if sought at all, not covertly, but openly, and 
in the face of day. 

But there was still another reason which forbade his 
acceptance. The nomination had been withheld from 
Mr. Van Buren, because of his opposition to the im- 
mediate annexation of Texas. This was not denied ; 
and had it been, the truth was so apparent as to defy 
contradiction. Yet he was asked to place his name 
upon the ticket, when it was known that he entertained 
similar views and opinions, and was prepared to vote 
against the treaty then lying before him in the Senate. 
The same objection that operated in the one case had 
equal weight in the other. He felt the importance of 
conciliation and harmony — the peace-offering was ap- 
preciated as it deserved — his party obligations were 
ever sacredly regarded — but there were considera- 
tions that rose far above them all. He had shown in his 
senatorial career that, " if he loved Caesar less, he 
bved Rome more" — that when his country required 
his vote, in opposition to the friends with whom he 
acted, he did not hesitate. It remained for him to 



150 TREATY OF MR. TYLER. 

prove, how much dearer was the preservation of his 
own independence and self-respect, than the honor that 
seemed a mockery, when it was purchased by the 
sacrifice of a friend for whom he entertained the afiec- 
tion of a brother ; whose banner he had borne aloft in 
sunshine and in storm, in prosperity and adversity ; 
and to whom he had adhered, when others were false 
and faithless — never doubting, never yielding, true and 
steadfast to the last. 

The treaty concluded by Mr. Tyler, was the leading 
topic of discussion in the Senate for several weeks. Its 
ratification was opposed by Mr. Wright and Mr. Ben- 
ton. The main objections urged by them were ; — the 
want of a proper regard for the claims, and the honor 
and character of Mexico, in the manner in which the 
negotiation had been conducted, without making any 
attempt to procure her consent — the uncertainty in re- 
lation to the boundary line of Texas, which was claimed 
by her to extend beyond the original limits of the prov- 
ince, and tacitly recognized in the treaty — and the as- 
sumption by Mr. Calhoun, in his official correspond- 
ence as secretary of state, that the acquisition of the 
territory was necessary for the protection of the insti- 
tution of slavery. The question of the liability for the 
payment of the debt of Texas, was also raised ; but it 
was thought that her public lands would be amply suf- 
ficient to discharge it. This objection was renewed 
after the treaty was disposed of, and shown to be of 
more weight. 

Neither before nor during the pendency of the nego- 
tiations for the annexation, was there any effort to 
secure an amicable arrangement of the claims of 
Mexico. Whether founded in truth, or otherwise — 
they were known to exist. They had been made 



BOUNDARIES OF TEXAS. 151 

openly and publicly ; but it was deemed advisable by 
the administration not to notice them, while the project 
itself was being discussed between the representatives 
of Texas and the United States. Seven davs after the 
treatv was signed, and after the Mexican minister had 
withdrawn from Washington, instructions were sent 
to the United States Charge in Mexico, directing him 
to communicate the fact to the Mexican government ; 
and, at the same time, to assure it, that no " disrespect 
or indifference to the honor or dignity of Mexico," was 
designed, and that the measure was adopted under cir- 
cumstances of great emergency. 

By an act of the Texan Congress, approved on the 
19th of December, 1836, the boundaries of the repubhc 
were defined as follows : " Beginning at the mouth of 
the Rio Grande, thence up the principal stream of said 
river to its source ; thence along the boundary line, as 
defined in the treaty between the United States and 
Spain, to the beginning." This line, established by 
Texas, not only included the original province which 
extended along the left bank of the Rio Grande, from 
its mouth to the mountainous barriers of the Passo, and 
thence northerly to the Red River, but it embraced 
one-half of the province of New Mexico, and large 
portions of the provinces of Chihuahua, Coahuila, and 
Tamaulipas. The treaty communicated to the Senate, 
by Mr. Tyler, proposed, on the part of the republic of 
Texas, to cede " to the United States all of its territo- 
ries, to be held by them in full property and sovereignty" 
— thus adopting in almost unequivocal terms, the claims 
of the Texan Congress. 

The principal argument, and the most important 
reason, urged by the administration of Mr. Tyler for 
the immediate annexation, as appears from the cor- 



152 NEGOTIATION OF TREATY. 

respondence between Mr. Calhoun, and the Texan 
commissioners and the British minister, was the neces- 
sity of protecting the domestic institutions of the South, 
the security and perpetuity of which were endangered 
by a design, said to be in contemplation, having for its 
object the abolition of slavery in Texas. In his letter 
to the United States Charge in Mexico, to which ref- 
erence has been made, he stated explicitly, that " the 
step was forced on the government of the United 
States, in self-defence, in consequence of the policy 
adopted by Great Britain in reference to the abolition 
of slavery in Texas. It was impossible," he added, 
" for the United States to witness, with indiiTerence, 
the efforts of .Great Britain to abolish slavery there. 
They could not but see that she had the means in her 
power, in the actual condition of Texas, to accomplish 
the objects of her policy, unless prevented by the most 
efficient measures ; and that, if accomplished, it would 
lead to a state of things dangerous in the extreme to 
the adjacent states, and the Union itself." 

Mr. Wright believed that justice to Mexico required 
that overtures should have been made to her for the 
settlement of all difficulties and questions in dispute, 
boundaries included, growing out of the separation of 
Texas from the Mexican Confederacy, and the subse- 
quent war, prior to entertaining the proposition for the 
annexation ; that the boundary line established by the 
Texan Congress, was not the true line, and should not 
have been either directly or indirectly acknowledged ; 
and that the perpetuity and security of slavery ought 
not to constitute, and did not constitute, a sufficient 
reason for the annexation, but that there were other 
arguments in favor of the acquisition, provided it 
could be obtained without injustice. As for the inter- 



SPEECH AT WATERTOWN. 153 

ference of Great Britain, he deemed that feature of the 
argument set at rest, by the express disclaimer of her 
minister ; and if any portion of her citizens, as individ- 
uals, were concerned in an effort to abohsh slavery in 
Texas, it was nothing more than they were constantly 
attempting to do in the southern states already belong- 
ing to the Union. These general views were repeated 
by him on several occasions, in addressing the meetings 
of his fellow-citizens in New York, during the summer 
of 1844. In his speech at Watertown, he said : — 

" There is another subject on which I feel bound to 
speak a word — a question which sprung up during the 
last session of Congress. I allude to the proposition to 
annex Texas to the territory of this republic. I was 
called on officially to act on that great national propo- 
sition. It is not my purpose to discuss the matter 
before you, because one who is to follow me, and who 
has paid more attention to the subject than I ha . e, will 
do it ample justice. But to you am I bound to account 
for my official action on that great question. I felt it 
my duty to vote as a senator, and did vote, against the 
ratification of the treaty for the annexation. It has 
been supposed by some, that I gave that vote from an 
unyielding opinion that annexation should never take 
place. That is not so. I have made up no such opin- 
ion. Fcr the treaty I could not vote, and one of the 
reasons was, that I believed then, as now, if we pro- 
posed to take that country into our confederacy, at the 
time and under the then existing relations between 
Mexico and Texas, it was our duty as one of the civil- 
ized nations of the earth, to go frankly, honestly, and 
openly to Mexico, and avow our wishes and designs — 
to offer to negotiate with her in reference to any claim 
she might have, and to make to her character, honor, 



154 SPEECH CONTINUED. 

and interest, all proper and honorable tenders. I be- 
lieve the honor, the faith, and standing of this Union, 
imperiously demanded this course. Again, I beheved 
that the treaty, from the boundaries that must be im- 
plied from it, if Mexico would not treat with us, em- 
braced a country to which Texas had no claim — over 
which she had never asserte-d jurisdiction, and which 
she had no right to cede. On this point I should give 
you a brief explanation. 

" The treaty ceded Texas by name, without any 
effort to describe a boundarv. The Congress of Texas 
had passed an act declaring by metes and bounds what 
was Texas within their power and jurisdiction. It ap- 
peared to me then, if Mexico should tell us, ' we don'l 
know you — we have no treaty to make with you ;' — 
and we were left to take possession of it by force, we 
must take the country as Texas had ceded it to us — 
and in doing that, or forfeiting our own honor, we must 
do injustice to Mexico, and take a large portion of 
New-Mexico, the people of which have never been 
under the jurisdiction of Texas. This, to me, was an 
insupportable barrier. I could not place the country 
in that position. Again, the record sent with the treaty 
— the correspondence between our negotiators, and the 
Texan commissioners, and the British minister — was 
anything but acceptable to me. That correspondence 
did not present the true reason why that country should 
be annexed to the Union, if it should be annexed. It 
was, as all recollect, put on the assumed ground that it 
was necessary to strengthen, defend and perpetuate the 
institution of slavery in the country. On this subject 
I speak with entire frankness. To say that I am not a 
friend to the institution of slavery as an individual, would 
be to offend you ; for no man living here in our societ}^ 



■ i 



REJECTION OF THE TREATY. 155 

can in his heart cherish an institution of that sort as a 
matter of principle. It is a libel on man to suppose so." 

The final vote in the Senate on the ratification of 
the treaty, was taken on the 8th of June ; sixteen 
senators voted in favor of the ratification, and thirty- 
five against it — Mr. Wright, as stated in the foregoing 
extract from hjs speech at Watertown, voting with the 
latter. Before dismissing the subject, it cannot be out 
of place to refer to an inquiry often made, as to what 
would have been Mr. Wright's course, had he re- 
mained in the Senate, upon the joint resolutions for the 
annexation of Texas, adopted in Congress on the 1st 
of March, 1845. It is not difficult to answer this 
question. The only thing to be determined is — whether 
his objections were removed. If so, his vote would 
have been given for the resolutions. 

The resolutions adopted by Congress embraced two 
propositions— the one positive, and tlie other alternative. 
It needs no argument to show, that Mr. Wright would 
have voted for the latter ; because it provided for the very 
thing he desired ; a fair and full negotiation — with Texas 
alone, it is true — but, in such negotiation, all vexed ques- 
tions might have been disposed of to the satisfaction of 
the parties concerned. Yet this may be regarded imma- 
terial, since the positive proposition was the one under 
which Texas was in fact annexed. The election of Mr. 
Polk by the people of the Union, as the avowed friend of 
immediate annexation, removed, in a great degree, the 
objection, that Mexico had not been consulted, inas- 
much as the evil, if one, was beyond the reach of rem- 
edy — the administration could not retrace its course 
upon that point without compromising the national 
honor — and it was fairly to be presumed that a majority 
of the electors desired the annexation as speedily as 



156 JOINT RESOLUTIONS. 

possible. Besides, a concession was made in behalf 
of the claims of Mexico, in that part of the first resolu- 
tion having reference to the boundaries of Texas ; 
to which, mainly, " the claims of Mexico," as the term 
was used in connection with this question, had refer- 
ence. The separate and sovereign character of Texas 
w'as recognized by the acknowledojment of her inde- 
pendence. The rights of Mexico in the matter, so far 
as the United vStates was concerned, were those con- 
nected with the division line and not the original sep- 
aration. The first clause of the joint resolutions gave 
the consent of Congress to the annexation of " the 
territory properly included within, and rightfully belong- 
ing to, the Republic of Texas ;" and in the second 
section it was provided, that " all questions of boundary 
that might arise with other Governments," should be 
"subject to adjustment" by the Government of the 
United States. These tvs'o features disposed of the 
boundary objection; they did not recognize the en- 
actment of the Texan Congress, but admitted, in ex- 
press terms, that there were questions in relation to 
the boundary that remained yet to be adjusted. The 
objection in regard to slavery was no longer of force, 
as an entirely new proposition had been adopted ; and 
although the friends of that institution might not have 
changed their views, others were left at liberty to sup- 
port the measure upon different grounds. Moreovei', 
a provision was inserted applying the principle of the 
Missouri compromise to the territory about to be 
annexed. A question has recently been raised, as to 
whether the compromise was not violated by the ratifi- 
cation of the Texan constitution ; but this has no 
necessary connection with the vote on the resolutions, 
and need not be considered here. Mr. Wright did not 



LEAVES WASHINGTON. 157 

oppose the admission of states into the Union, in which 
slavery existed, on the ground of its existence ; but he 
was in favor of firmly adhering to the Missouri com- 
promise line. The existence of slavery in Texas did 
not constitute, in his opinion, a valid objection to the 
annexation ; but he never approved of the acquisition 
of territory, for the purpose of extending that institu- 
tion. The objection concerning the liability for the 
payment of the debts of Texas was settled, by the pos- 
itive declaration in the resolutions that " in no event" 
were they " to become a charge upon the Government 
of the United States." If, therefore, these views are 
correct, Mr. Wright would most certainly have voted, 
as did his friend and successor, Mr. Dix, for the joint 
resolutions. 

A strong effort was made in the House of Represen- 
tatives, previous to the adjournment in the summer of 
1844, to pass a bill reducing and modifying the tariff 
law of 1842. But the opinions of members were found 
to be so conflicting and so various, that nothing defi- 
nite was accomplished. The last day of the session 
came, and, with it, Mr. Wright's . career as a senator 
was closed. Had he, — had his associates foreseen, as 
they took him by the hand at parting, what was so 
soon to transpire, sadder thoughts would have been 
cherished than those which accompanied them from 
the capitol. Though he and they knev/ it not, he left 
the seat of government never to return. The separa- 
tion was final — forever. 

On his way home from Washington, and after his 
return, Mr. Wright addressed his fellow-citizens in dif- 
ferent sections of the state, upon what he regarded as 
the great questions involved in the approaching presi- 
dential election. Although he had refused to suffer his 



158 DISSENSIONS IN NEW YORK. 

name to be put upon the ticket, he gave the candidates 
nominated, a frank, manly, and honorable support. The 
influence and exertions of the intimate friends of Mr. 
Van Buren were requisite to the success of the demo- 
cratic party. The least appearance of lukewarmness, 
or hesitation on their part, and the state of New York 
would give her electoral vote for Mr. Clay. They 
could not remain indifferent. Thev desired to see the 
Independent Treasury re-established, the tarift' lav>'^ 
modified, the title to Oregon maintained, and the dis- 
tribution of the land fund prevented ; and they were 
willing that Texas should be annexed, if the people de- 
sired it, upon fair and proper terms, and in a careful 
and judicious manner. Mr. Van Buren himself wrote 
a letter to his friends in the city of New York, exhort- 
ing them " to merge all minor considerations/' and sus- 
tain the nominations. The letter was published in all 
the democratic papers of the state, and produced a 
powerful impression upon the minds of the electors. 
Mr. Wright and Mr. Butler also tendered their services 
in addressing the people whenever and wherever they 
were required. But the issue of the election was still 
doubtful. Dissensions existed in the democratic ranks, 
growing out of questions of state policy, and the man- 
agement of the state finances. The party was divided 
into two factions, each bitter and unsparing in its 
denunciations of the other. Personal animosities, pri- 
vate piques and prejudices, served to give a more 
marked and decided character to the division. At the 
caucus held by the democratic members of the Legis- 
lature, in the spring of 1844, for the first time since the 
re-organization of the party in support of General Jack- 
son and Mr. Van Buren, a strong effort was made to 
prevent the passage of resolutions approving of the 



THEIR ORIGIN. 159 

course of the state administration. This had always 
been customary when they were in power, as was then 
the case ; but a number of the persons present abso- 
lutely refused to vote for the resolutions, and directed 
their names not to be attached to the proceedings. 

After the adjournment of the Legislature, the demo- 
cratic newspapers in the state took up the quarrel which 
had commenced at Albany. The conduct of the dis- 
senting members of the caucus was yehemently con- 
demned by one portion, and warmly approved by 
another. William C. Bouck and Daniel S. Dickinson, 
the governor and lieutenant-governor, were considered 
as heading one faction, and Colonel Young, the secre- 
tary of state, and Azariah C. Flagg, the comptroller, 
represented the other. The latter was in favor of sus- 
taining and continuing the financial policy advocated 
and supported by Governor Throop and Mr. Wright, 
and the former preferred more liberal appropriations, 
and ^yere less cautious in regard to increasing the state 
debt. This division line had long existed in the party. 
It was perhaps derived originally from the opposition 
of the Bucktails to the numerous projects for the con- 
struction of roads and canals brought forward by the 
Clintonians. After the union of the Bucktail and Clin- 
tonian Jackson men in 1827, the feelings which had 
been entertained seemed temporarily to be forgotten, and 
when they were revived, many of the leading politicians 
assumed different positions in relation to the question 
than they had before occupied. Some of the Bucktails 
approved of a liberal use of the public credit, while a 
portion of the Clintonians became decided advocates 
of economy and prudence in the management and dis- 
position of the resources and revenues of the state. 

Mr. Van Buren retired from the office of governor 



160 STATE LEGISLATION. 

in time to avoid, in a great measure, the injurious effect 
upon his own prospects which the agitation of this sub- 
ject must have produced. The legislation of the state, 
for several years subsequent to his resignation, has been 
previously noticed.* The opposition of Governor 
Throop to the construction of the lateral canals occa- 
sioned so much ill-feehng, that he was compelled to 
decline a re-nomination. Governor Marcy, though 
yielding to the urgent entreaties of the friends of the 
Chenango canal, adhered generally to the policy of the 
previous administration. The veto of the bill to re- 
charter the Bank of the United States, and the removal 
of the deposits, occasioned numerous applications to the 
Legislature of New York for the incorporation of state 
institutions. This nevv' interest united with the friends 
of the lateral canals, and those who advocated the im- 
mediate enlargement of the Erie canal, in carrying the 
measures they desired. The gradual enlargement was 
approved by all parties, but a majority of the Legisla- 
ture, in 1835, passed a bill conferring almost unlimited 
power upon the canal board. At this session a great 
number of banks were chartered. In his annual mes- 
sage to the Legislature in 1836, Governor Marcy 
pointed out the evils to which this rage for speculation 
and new enterprises would lead, and earnestly pro- 
tested "against pledging the credit of the state for 
further improvements, until ample means had been 
provided for the prompt payment of the interest." But 
scores of applications for bank-charters were presented, 
a large portion of which were granted : heavy loans 
were made to railroad companies ; and acts were passed 
authorizing the construction of the Black River and 
Genesee Valley canals. The governor resisted the 

* Chapter III. 



BANK CHARTERS. 161 

current for the time, but finally gave way so far as to 
let the Legislature take its course without his interfer- 
ence. The commercial disasters of 1837 put an end to 
legislation of this character. A strong faction was 
formed adverse to bank-charters. Mr. Van Buren and 
Mr. Wright were known to be in favor of adopting 
stringent measures where these institutions failed to 
fulfil their obligations. The specie circular, and the 
independent treasury plan, were not satisfactory to the 
chartered banks, and their influence to a great extent 
became hostile to the national administration. Gover- 
nor Marcy endeavored to pursue a course which would 
meet with the approbation of all. The banking interest 
did not unite in any opposition to his administration, 
nor was his course in regard to internal improvements 
calculated to make either faction unfriendly towards 
him. He signified his approbation of the independent 
treasury, though at first, like many others, not inclined 
to favor it. But the ultraists on both sides disapproved 
of his moderation, and he was defeated in 1838. The 
whigs came into power, and continued with more 
freedom the lavish expenditures begun under the former 
administration, in accordance with the policy they 
avowed. 

Those who thought with Mr. Wright, had warned 
their party friends to be more cautious in prosecuting 
the public works, and increasing the state debt, and 
witnessed with regret the incorporation of such a large 
number of banks. A sound, judicious system of bank- 
ing, he and they always desired to see established ; but 
the legislation of 1835 and 1836 did not appear to them 
very well calculated to promote that object. In 1840, 
his name was suggested in connection w4th the nomi- 
nation for governor ; but he was aware that the inter- 



162 STOP AND TAX LAW. 

ests which had opposed his election to the Senate, 
would not be entirely content to see his name upon 
the ticket ; and, although they might give him their 
support, the success of Mr. Van Buren would be placed 
in jeopardy. Upon national questions, the party was 
well united at this time, except that those who disap- 
proved of the independent treasury were not friendly 
to the administration at Washington ; and he did not 
desire to introduce new causes for ill-feeling and divis- 
ion. He therefore declined being a candidate for the 
nomination, and Mr. Bouck was selected by the con- 
vention. The whig ticket succeeded, however, and 
the financial policy continued nearly the same as be- 
fore. In 1841, the election resulted favorably to the 
democratic party. Most of their candidates and jour- 
nals had advocated greater care and caution in man- 
aging the finances of the state, the suspension of the 
public works, and the adoption of immediate measures 
for the payment of the rapidly increasing debt. The 
Legislature assembled in January, 1842, and elected 
Colonel Young secretary of state, and restored Mr. 
Flagg to the office of comptroller, from which he had 
been removed by the whigs. The other members of 
the canal board, appointed at the same time, with one 
or two exceptions, entertained similar views with those 
gentlemen. On the recommendation of Mr. Flagg, a 
law was passed, entitled " an act to provide for paying 
the debt and preserving the credit of the state." By 
this act, a tax was authorized to be raised of one mill 
on every dollar of the valuation of real and personal 
property ; the revenues of the state were pledged for 
the payment of the debt, variously estimated at from 
twenty to thirty millions of dollars ; and all further ex- 
penditures on the public works were suspended, except 



THE people's resolution. 1G3 

wliere the completion of any particular contract would 
be an act of economy. The vote on this bill was a 
strict party one ; the democratic members uniting in 
the passage of the bill. This act was termed the " stop 
and tax law of 1842," referred to by Mr. Wright in the 
Senate of the United States, when he spoke of " the 
noble example of New York," and commended it to 
the advoca+es of the loan bill. 

But apprehensions were entertained by a portion of 
those who were opposed to the increase of the state 
debt, that moderate counsels might not always prevail 
in the Legislature. In 1841, an amendment of the 
constitution had been urged, forbidding the creation of 
any debt exceeding a certain specified sum for contin- 
gencies, without first submitting the question to the 
electors of the state. The resolution providing for the 
amendment was called " The People's Resolution." It 
was discussed in the Legislature, but did not receive 
its approval. In 1842, it was again introduced, but the 
whig members, and the friends of a more liberal policy 
in regard to works of improvement, opposed its adop- 
tion, and insisted that the law passed at that session 
was sufficiently rigid in its provisions. At the fall 
election, Mr. Bouck was chosen governor, and Mr. 
Dickinson lieutenant-governor ; the convention by 
which they were nominated having passed a resolution 
m favor of a strict adherence to the requirements of 
the law of 1842. In 1843, "the people's resolution" 
was connected with another amendment, making the 
pledges and guarantees of the law of 1842 also, a part 
of the state constitution. The same influences that 
had defeated the amendment offered at the preceding 
session of the Legislature, were again successful. Pre- 
vious to the fall election, these amendments were ex- 



164 THE FINANCIAL aUESTION. 

tensively discussed before the people and in the public 
newspapers ; and at the session of the Legislature in 
1844, they were approved by a majority of the mem- 
bers, in order to be presented to the succeeding Legis- 
lature, when, if they received a vote of two-thirds, they 
were to be submitted to the people for their final ratifi- 
cation. The friends of the governor and lieutenant- 
governor did not originally approve of the adoption of 
the amendments ; but a portion of them voted to pre- 
sent them to the next Legislature. The principles 
sought to be ingrafted upon the constitution by these 
amendments, were those which formed the main points 
of difference between the two factions in the demo- 
cratic party. They had assumed various forms and 
modifications during the successive stages of legisla- 
tion ; but the great question involved in them remained 
the same. There were also minor shades of opinion, 
which caused a great many persons to be regarded 
either as neutral or moderate in their views. The im- 
mense interests connected with the public works, gave 
those who favored their prosecution considerable power 
and influence, and this naturally occasioned a more 
determined feeling to spring up on the other side. 
Personal considerations, appointments to office, and 
other questions of subordinate importance, were con- 
nected with the dispute in regard to the financial 
policy which should be observed ; but when the real 
ground and origin of the controversy and division was 
sought after, it was found to consist in the question : 
Whether or not the debt of the state should be increased 
at any time, without providing the means for its pay- 
ment, and relying merely upon anticipated revenues to 
discharge it. 

While these agitating subjects were discussed in the 



PROPOSED FOR GOVERNOR. 165 

New York Legislature, and in the newspapers and 
conventions of the party, upon national subjects the 
factions remained united. The feeling at one time ex- 
isting asainst Mr. Wrio^ht had nearly subsided. His 
course on the Texas question occasioned some remark, 
but it was mostly confined to those who were enjoying 
the patronage of Mr. Tyler's administration, and not 
even they wholly disapproved of his vote. All had the 
most perfect and entire confidence in the purity of his 
motives, and this universal feeling in his favor was 
manifested in the unanimity with which he Vv'as re- 
elected in 1843. This popularity, however, which he 
had acquired by his course in the Senate, and by re- 
maining almost entirely separated from state politics, 
furnished the most powerful argument to remove him 
from the position he had adorned by his high character 
and conceded talents, and connect his name with the 
dissensions and differences of the democratic party at 
home. Soon after his return from Washington, his 
name was mentioned as that of a suitable candidate 
for governor, and one upon whom both factions would 
cheerfully unite. The suggestion originated with those 
who were opposed to the re-nomination 'of Governor 
Bouck ; but it was afterwards adopted, not only by 
them, but also by those who were considered moderate 
or indifferent in their views as to state questions. 
From the first it did not receive his approbation. He 
foresaw that however much he might disapprove of the 
personal animosities which had been engendered, they 
would be certain to affect him, provided he adhered to 
the opinions he had ever maintained in regard to the 
financial policy of the state ; and these were too firmly 
fixed to be either compromised or waived, under any 
circumstances. The line between the factions was 



166 OBJECTIONS TO BECOME A CANDIDATE. 

drawn ; he could not satisfy both without a sacrifice 
of principle ; and he entreated his friends to spare him 
from mingling in the contention and strife which had 
distracted and divided them. But the feeling in favor 
of his nomination extended farther and wider. He 
saw that something must be done to prevent it, and he 
addressed a letter to a friend in Albany, the substance 
of which was made public through the columns of a 
leading paper in that city, stating expressly that he was 
lot a candidate for governor, and that he should not, 
knowingly, make himself the means of difficulties, or 
divisions, in the democratic party of the state, to which 
ne was so deeply indebted, at any time, upon any ques- 
tion, or for anv object ; and certainly not at a time like 
the present, when a vital national question demanded 
perfect harmony, and the united and patriotic exertions 
of the whole party." 

This announcement did not check the expressions 
of public sentiment demanding his nomination. Every 
day more positive demonstrations were made. The 
great majority of the party seemed to desire it, and the 
opinion was generally entertained, that the national 
ticket would be defeated unless he came forward as a 
candidate. Still he hesitated. He had ambition ; but 
it was of a high and lofty character. The Senate of 
the nation was his appropriate sphere, and he did desire 
to maintain, and, if possible, increase the reputation he 
had acquired as a member of that body. But he would 
not peremptorily decline the gubernatorial nomination ; 
for, had he done so, Mr. Polk would have been defeated, 
and the consequences of that defeat attributed to him. 
He was also unwillins; to disresiard the wishes of those 
who had placed hii.i in the Senate, and whose right to 
recall him he had always acknowledged. He then 



DEMOCRATIC STATE CONVENTION. 167 

determined to leave the matter to the democratic party 
of the state. If their delegates in the convention 
brought forward his name ; if all concurred in the se- 
lection ; and the resolutions were in accordance with 
his opinions upon the financial policy of the state ; he 
would not decline the nomination. 

The convention met on the 4th of September. Upon 
the informal ballot, three-fourths of its members voted 
for Mr. Wright. Without taking another vote, on 
motion of one of the leading friends of Governor Bouck, 
who had been supported in opposition, he was nomi- 
nated by acclamation. The members of the conven- 
tion, and the citizens in attendance, were enthusiastic 
in their approval. The address adopted took firm and 
decided ground in support of the principles of the con- 
stitutional amendments approved by the Legislature at 
its session during the previous winter ; and among the 
resolutions which received the unanimous concurrence 
of the members of the convention, was one, containing 
the following expression of their sentiments : " We 
proclaim our uncompromising adherence to the debt- 
paying policy of 1842. It is the policy of integrity, 
patriotism, and public faith. It is the policy which is 
to redeem the state from her heavy debt and her finan- 
cial embarrassments, to give her hereafter the control 
of her now crippled resources, and to enable her to 
fulfil her high and glorious destiny. We commend, 
therefore, to the favorable consideration of the people, 
and of those whom thev shall elect to of^ce, the consti- 
tutional amendments adopted at the last session of the 
Legislature and now in course of publication throughout 
the state. By them the pledges and guarantees of the 
act entitled ' an act to provide for paying the debts and 
preserving the credit of the state ' passed March 29, 



168 LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 

1842, are confirmed ; and a salutary restriction upon 
the power of the Legislature to involve the state in ex- 
cessive debts or liabilities is imposed." 

The feelings which prompted Mr. Wright in accept- 
ing the gubernatorial nomination, maybe gathered from 
his letter addressed to the committee appointed on the 
part of the convention to notify him of the selection 
they had made. " My strong personal reluctance," he 
says in the letter, " against being made a candidate for 
this office, and my settled conviction that I had no 
right to become a competitor for the nomination, were 
made public long before the meeting of the convention, 
and were doubtless known to all the members of that 
bodv. My nomination, under these circumstances, is 
a decision by the convention, that my personal wishes 
in relation to the office should yield to my obligations 
to the democratic party of the state, whose representa- 
tives the members of the convention were ; and the 
unanimity of the expression leaves me no alternative 
but to yield to the call made upon me. Much of my 
personal reluctance upon this subject has arisen from a 
just apprehension, deeply entertained, that, if elected 
to the office of governor, I should find myself inade- 
quate to the discharge of its responsible duties in a 
manner acceptable to those friends who should give me 
their support for it, or creditable to myself and the state. 
Still, the obligation upon n!e to yield every personal 
preference, and even personal distrust, to the unani- 
mous wish and judgment of that great and patriotic 
party, which has so liberally bestowed its honors and 
its confidence upon me, is too plain to allow of hesita- 
tion ; and if it shall be the pleasure of the people of 
the state to confirm this nomination by an election, my 
earnest efforts shall be devoted to the faithful discharge, 



LETTER ON THE UNFINISHED CANALS. 169 

according to my best ability and judgment, of the high 
duties which will thus be devolved upon me." 

On the 8th of September, a gentleman residing upon 
the line of the Black River canal, wrote to Mr. Wright, 
for the purpose of obtaining a declaration of his views 
and feehngs in relation to the unfinished canals and 
improvements of the state. He had nothing to conceal 
from those for whose suffrages he was a candidate ; 
and he immediately replied, in a letter containing the 
most positive assurances that he should adhere strictly 
to the principles of the law of 1842, and giving his free 
consent to its publication. In the letter he says: — 

" The state convention which has placed me in 
nomination for the office of governor, has, in the ad- 
dress and resolutions adopted by it, discussed very fully 
the points upon which your inquiries rest, and very 
distinctly declared the course of policy which it in- 
tends shall govern the action of the candidates it has 
placed before the electors of the state, and recom- 
mended for their support. In accepting the nomination 
tendered to me by the convention, according to my 
understanding of the good faith of the case, I substan- 
tially adopt the great principles, and measures, and 
course of policy, which that body has assured the com- 
mon constituency v/ill be advanced and secured by the 
election of the candidates it has placed in nomination ; 
and could I not conscienti-'Usly do that, it would have 
been mv dutv, as I think, to decline the nomination ; 
and if not that, certainly in my letter of acceptance, 
to have pointed out to the electors wherein, upon ques- 
tions so important and so directly interesting to them, 
my course would difier from that marked out and rec- 
ommended by the nominating convention ; less than 
this would not enable the elector to act understandingly 

8 



170 LETTER CONTINUED. 

in giving his vote, the very object for which conven- 
tic^ns intrusted with the naming of candidates, adopt 
and publish addresses and resolutions. 

" Since the perusal of your letter, I have re-read 
carefully these portions of the address and resolutions 
of the state convention, and so far from finding the 
obligation resting upon me of adopting the principles 
and policy there recommended, a reluctant or irksome 
one, I cheerfully subscribe to both, as in my judgment 
wise and sound, and most beneficial to the whole state, 
and all its citizens, and all its great interests taken as a 
whole. 

*' If you will permit me, therefore, to refer you to 
these documents, vou will have mv answer to vour in- 
quiries, and a declaration of the policy in respect to 
them, which, if elected, I shall feel bound to recom- 
mend, as distinctly given as 1 could give them by rep- 
etition. 

" I do not find anything in the ground here occupied, 
and the policy here avowed and advocated, to justify 
the charge which you say is made against me, of op- 
position to the completion of the canals of the state, as 
far and as fast as that can be done without a violation 
of the public faith, pledged in the great financial act 
of 1842, and without an enlargement of the present 
state debt ; and if I am charged with opposition to fur- 
ther taxation upon the whole property and people of 
the state, to meet the interest upon a new debt to be 
contracted to go on with these works, the charge is 
just in so far as that I cannot with the opinions I have 
hitherto entertained, and which yet remain, recommend 
additional taxation or increased public indebtedness for 
these objects, any farther than the people of the state, 



LETTER CONTINUED. 171 

upon a specific reference to them, shall give their as- 
sent to the increased burdens upon themselves. 

" No apology, certainly, was required from you for 
addressing to me the inquiries contained in your letter. 
Nor have I any right, any more than I have a disposi- 
tion, to place an injunction upon my answer to them. 
I occupy the position which has calbd out your letter, 
as 1 presume you are aware, under the strongest personal 
reluctance, but neither you nor any other citizen of the 
state who has a tax to pay, or a vote to give, is any the 
less entitled on that account to the full and frank ex- 
pression of my opinions upon all questions of public 
interest ; and your inquiries relate to questions pecul- 
iarly of this character. 

" It is a matter of just congratulation that the canal 
revenues are so strongly improving ; and whenever 
the current r jvenues of the state shall furnish a surplus, 
which can be applied towards the completion of the un- 
finished canals, consistently with the pledges made of 
these revenues by the law of 1842, I do not suppose 
there will be two opinions in the Legislature upon the 
question of re-commencing and completing these 
works." 



CHAPTER YIII. 

1844. — Views of Mr. Wright on the Financial Policy of the State well 
understood — Opposition to Increasing State Debt — Firmness in main- 
taii/ing his Opinions — Senatorial Conventions — Question of calling a 
Convention to Revise the Constitution — Constitutional Aaiendments 
— November Election — Mr. Wright chosen Governor — Resignation as 
Senator and Appointaient of his Su^cessur— Anti-Rsnt Disturbani^es 
— ElTt^rts to Suppress — Mr. Wright enters on the Duties of his Office 
— Meeting of the Legislature -Speaker— Governor's Message — Rec- 
ommendations — Election ofSenators—State Officers— PrasiJent Polk's 
Cabinet— Dis^ont^nt— Mr. Wright Declines the Office of Secretary 
of the Treasury — Defeat of the Constitutional Amend.nents — Con- 
vention Bill — Dissatisfaction — The Canal Bill — V^eto — Adjournment 
— Insurrection in Delaware County— Executive Proclamation — Ad- 
vice to Landlords and Tenants — Trial of Persons Arrested — Commu- 
tation of Punishment— Fall Election — The People in Favor of a Con- 
vention — Legisl.iture of 1843 — Message — State Printer — War with 
Me.xijo — Cau.'us of Democratic Members of the Legislature — Con- 
tinued Diisensions — Appointments of the Governor — TarilT Act of 
ISU) — Constitutional Convention— lis Proceedings — Financial Arti.;le 
adopted — Democratic State Convention — Re-no.nination of Governor 
Wright.— 184G. 

The object of ascertaining the views of Mr. Wright 
in regard to the completion of the unfinished canals, as 
avowed in the letter to which his reply, given in the 
previous chapter, was made, was to decide upon the 
feasibility of an attempt to procure the passage of a law 
for their prosecution, because it was thought that any 
effort would be hopeless, in opposition to his executive 
recommendations ; and his correspondent intimated an 
intention, on his part, to accept a nomination for the 



HIS VIEWS WELL KNOWN. 173 

Assembly, if the prospects were satisfactory. It was 
also stated, that unfavorable impressions existed in cer- 
tain localities, more particularly interested in finishing 
the works, which it was desirable to remove if they 
were unfounded. The contents of Mr. Wright's letter 
were not made public previous to the election, and the 
individual to whom it was addressed did not become a 
candidate for the Legislature, though his high character 
and standing, and conceded qualifications for the office, 
would have secured him the nomination, had even a 
wish to that effect been expressed. The position of Mr. 
Wright, however, with respect to the question, was 
well known, and the fact mentioned by his correspond- 
ent, of the existence of unfriendly feelings, clearly 
shows that this was the case. The substance of the 
letter, too, it is but fair to presume, was communicated 
to the prominent members of the party who resided 
along the line of the Black River canal, and were in 
favor of its completion. It is creditable to them that 
its publication was not deemed advisable, if the fear of 
his defeat prompted the withholding it. But this fact 
is very strong evidence that his opinions did not concur 
with their own. 

Had it been thought that Mr. Wright in any wise 
favored the completion of the unfinished works, until 
there was a surplus applicable to that object, over and 
above the amount necessary to discharge the liabilities 
of the state coming due, whether of principal or in- 
terest, no small effort would have been madcJ to set him 
right before the public. His course when filling the 
office of comptroller was well known ; the same prin- 
ciples which then formed the issue between himself and 
the friends of the original construction of the lateral 
canals now existed in equal force ; though modest and 



174 ORIGINAL CANAL DEBT. 

unpretending, he was known to be firm in the advocacy 
and maintenance of his opinions ; and it had never 
been even hinted that his sentiments were changed. 
He had always steadily resisted the creation of a debt, 
without providing means for its payment, in some other 
mode than from anticipated or imaginary revenues. 
He was willing to apply an existing surplus, not required 
for the payment of any liability of the state, wherever 
it was thought desirable ; but further than that he could 
not, and did not go. He remembered the argument 
which had constantly been used by those who differed 
with him in opinion ; that the works when finished 
w^ould supply a revenue sufficient to cancel every obli- 
gation. But experience had shown him, that the time 
for their completion never arrived ; that one object 
seemed to create a desire for another; that the produc- 
tive works of the state were made to support the un- 
productive ; that new debts were contracted, upon the 
faith of calculations and estimates based in futurity ; 
that this course was pursued, until the public credit was 
impaired, the state stocks depreciated in the market, 
loans denied by the capitalist upon the declared ground 
that the revenues were insufficient, and it became neces- 
sar}' to stop the expenditures on the unfinished works, 
and impose a tax upon the people, to meet the current 
expenses of the government, and pay the interest on the 
state debt. At the time the oi iginal canal debt was 
created, the most valuable revenues of the state — those, 
too, that were actual and real — were set apart for its 
paym.ent. This policy was continued until new works 
were authorized, which could furnish no revenue, 
and debts were contracted, relying upon a future 
income to discharge them. The result was, the disas- 
trous prostration of the state credit. The law of 1842 



FIRMNESS OF HIS OPINIONS. 175 

■vvas enacted to remedy this evil ; and a departure from 
either its letter or spirit could not secure the approba- 
tion of Mr. Wright, It is hardly credible that a single 
elector in the state of New York, in 1844, who cared 
sufficient about the subject to make an inquiry, remained 
in ignorance of this fact. 

It is not designed by these remarks to impugn the 
motives of those who afterwards disapproved of Mr. 
Wright's course upon this question. There was a dif- 
ference of opiaion between them — let it be adJed, that 
it was honestly entertained on both sides — but justice 
to him requires that it should not be said, he received 
their support for the office of governor in pursuance of 
any understanding, either express or implied, that he 
would deviate in the least particular from the line of 
policy which he had ever advocated ; or that there was 
any substantial ground for misapprehension with regard 
to his sentiments. The principle that separated them 
was an important one — to him, of paramount impor- 
tance — and no consideration, not even the success of 
the party or of himself, would have induced him to 
yield or sacrifice it. There could have been no mis- 
take upon this point, for his public acts and conduct 
formed part of the history of the state ; and it was 
honorable in those who disagreed with him, that they 
offiired him their support, when the opposing candidate 
entertained opinions more nearly coinciding with their 
own upon matters of state policy. They might have 
hoped — and it could have been nothing but a hope — 
that he would be disposed to surrender a little, a very 
little, of his opposition to the measures in which they 
took so deep an interest ; but the blame was theirs, not 
his, of forgetting that there were some things he never 
compromised. 



176 PROJECT OF A CONVENTION. 

The members of the convention at which Mr. Wright 
was nominated indorsed his views to the fullest extent. 
Had they not done so, his name would never have been 
placed upon the ticket with his consent. He was pre- 
pared promptly to decline the nomination, and com- 
municated his intention to his friends, unless it was 
tendered under such circumstances. The question of 
sustaining or disavowing the policy of 1842 was pre- 
sented more distinctly than ever at this election. The 
project of calling a convention to revise the constitution 
had been agitated, for a long time, in some portions of 
the state, by those who had given up every expectation 
of accomplishing anything through the Legislature. 
Six of the eight democratic senatorial conventions pre- 
sented, in their resolutions, the alternative of the 
passage of the constitutional amendments, or the call 
of a convention. In accepting the nomination, Mr. 
Wright became the representative of the principle im- 
bodied in those amendments, which the great majority 
of the party approved. As such he was, or should 
have been, supported — as such he was elected. If any, 
influenced by a regard for his high character and talents, 
though differing from him in sentiment, gave him their 
sufl^rages, it was a voluntary act so far as they were 
concerned — not done in ignorance, but understandingly 
and knowingly ; and it ought not to have been supposed 
that he would ever lose sight of the principles which 
had constantly guided and controlled him. 

The nomination of Mr. Wriorht infused new courac^e 
and animation into the ranks of the democratic party. 
Where all had been despondency and gloom, every- 
thing was now bright and cheering. His name was, 
in truth, a tower of strength, and its influence carried 
both the state and the national tickets. For several 



ELECTED GOVERNOR. 177 

weeks before the election the opposition were willing 
to concede that his success was certain, and directed 
all their exertions in behalf of Mr. Clay. The number 
of votes polled was immenro — amounting to nearly five 
hundred thousand. Mr. Wright was elected by above 
ten thousand majority over Millard Fillmore, the whig 
candidate, and one of their most popular and talented 
men. The democratic electoral ticket was chosen by 
a majority of five thousand votes. The difference 
between the vote for governor and that for electors 
has been sometimes referred to, for the purpose of 
establishing a charge of unfairness against the friends 
of jMr. Wright ; but nothing could be more unfounded 
or unjust. Had he or they uttered a single word or 
whisper, during the canvass, unfavorable to the success 
of the electoral ticket, it would have been defeated by 
an overwhelming vote. If anything, he felt a deeper 
interest in the election of Mr. Polk than in his own 
success, inasmuch as all the great national questions 
which had engrossed his attention for so many years 
were involved in the contest. There were a num-ber , 
of distinguished men throughout the Union, who de- 
voted their time and talents, in sustaining the demo- 
cratic candidate ; but not one among them all con- 
tributed more to the result which followed the combined 
efforts of the party, than Silas Wright. The true cause 
of his increased vote was the general confidence in the 
soundness of his views with regard to the management 
of the financial concerns of the state. In the city of 
New York, the great centre of all the commercial and 
moneyed interests, he received nearly fifteen hundred 
votes more than the electoral ticket ; and yet the feel- 
ing in favor of the immediate annexation of Texas was 
stronger there than in any other quarter of the state. 

8* 



178 RESIGNATION AS SENATOR. 

He did not poll a full vote in those sections intei'ested 
in the completion of the unfinished canals ; but else- 
where he was sustaiaed by the whole party strength, 
and received the vote of many a tax-payer opposed to 
him on the national issue. 

Shortly after the November election, Mr. Wricrht 
repaired to the capital of the state. Having learned 
that it was the intention of Governor Bouck to supply 
temporarily the vacancy in the Senate of the United 
States occasioned by the resignation of Mr. Tallmadge, 
who had been appointed governor of the territory of 
Wisconsin by President Tyler, he immediatelv tendered 
his own resignation. On the 30th of November, 
Daniel S. Dickinson, the lieutenant-governor, was 
selected as the successor of Mr. Tallmadge ; and on 
the same day the vacancy occasioned by the resigna- 
tion of Mr. Wright was filled, by the appointment of 
Henry A. Foster, at that time a member of the state 
Senate. These appointments were only to continue 
until the meeting of the Legislature, but they were 
exceedingly unwelcome to that section of the party 
who had opposed the re-nomination of Governor Bouck, 
and were calculated to increase rather than allay the 
ill-feelino; which a more moderate policy might have 
entirely subdued. Both gentlemen were known as 
decided in their opposition to the financial views ol 
Mr. Wright. Mr. Foster was a member of the House 
of Representatives, at the time the independent treas- 
ury plan was first proposed, and voted with the oppo- 
nents of that measure on account of his hostility to the 
specie clause. At first he was classed with the conser- 
vatives, but in 1840 he supported Mr. Van Buren. 
The appointment of a successor not recognized as the 
firm friend of a measure which it was expected would 



ANTI-RENT DISTURBANCES. 179 

be soon re-established, and with which Mr. Wright 
was so thoroughly identified, could not have been 
agreeable to his feelings. It was regarded by that por- 
tion of the party whose sentiments corresponded more 
nearly with his own, and by those friends who looked 
forward to the day when he would occupy a more 
prominent position before the nation, as a movement 
designed to create an adverse influence at Washington. 
Whatever impression might have been made on his 
mind, he uttered no complaint. He might have thought 
that his own wishes should have been in some degree 
consulted, considering the evidence just afforded of his 
popularity among the democratic electors of the state, 
but the thought did not find utterance. Conscious of 
the integrity of his own purposes, he was still deter- 
mined to be the representative of the party, and to 
regard all Vvith equal favor, unless he was required to 
make a sacrifice of principle, and then he would do 
what he conceived to be right. 

Durina; the summer and fall of 1844, disturbances 
w^ere constantly taking place upon the leasehold estates 
in the third senatorial district. These difficulties were 
neither new nor of rare occurrence. The first grants 
of land, within the limits of the present state of New 
York, were made bv the States General of Holland. 
In 1629 the Charter of liberties and exemptions was 
granted, bv which lars^e tracts were secured to the 
patroons who made actual settlements within a limited 
time. Special privileges and immunities were con- 
ferred upon the proprietors, and the design was to 
introduce the manorial and baronial system which pre- 
vailed throughout the greater part of Europe. When 
the colony was transferred to the English they pur- 
sued the same poHcy. The French likewise, in their 



180 MANORIAL SYSTEM. 

possessions at the north, adopted a similar plan of con- 
veying seignorial rights. These lands were let by the 
proprietors upon perpetual leases, with certain reser- 
vations customarv under the old feudal tenures. Rents 
were payable in wheat and other products of the soil, 
and in poultry, or in personal services, which were 
particularly specified in the leases. All mines and 
minerals, mill-privileges, the right of way, and other 
important advantages, were reserved to the landlords; 
and the tenant could not alienate the farm he occupied 
without paying a heavy fine. These restrictions 
operated severely in many cases, and gave rise to fre- 
quent difficulties. In 1757 an outbreak occurred on 
the Livingston manor. The sherifli*and his posse were 
resisted, and several persons killed and wounded in the 
affray. Similar acts of violence were committed on 
the Rensselaer manor in 1766, and it was necessary 
to order out a large military force to enable the sheriff 
to execute the laws. In the same year the county of 
Dutchess was the scene of a disturbance, which was 
quelled by a body of regular soldiers from New York ; 
the leader in the insurrection was executed for treason, 
and a number of his followers summarily punished. 

The aristocratic features of this mode of leasing 
lands were not regarded with much favor by the whigs 
of the Revolution, and in 1787 an act w^as passed by 
the Legislature entirely abolishing the feudal system. 
A leasehold system was then devised which seemed to 
meet with general approbation, for the reason perhaps, 
that it was something of an improvement upon that 
w^hich had previously been in existence. Lands were 
conveyed in fee simple, but subject to covenants run- 
ning with the same, by which the tenants bound them- 
selves to make payments in produce, and perform per- 



aUARTER SALES. 181 

sonal services, as before. In some cases it was stipu- 
lated that a certain quantity of wheat, or a pair of 
fowls, should be delivered at the manor-house on a par- 
ticular day, and in others that one or more days service 
with a horse and carriage should be performed, or a 
load of wood drawn to the landlord. Reservations of 
mines and other privileges were made by the landlords ; 
and instead of the fine for alienation, the tenant entered 
into a covenant that one-quarter, one-fifth, or other 
specified portion of the consideration money of every 
transfer or sale, should be paid to the landlord. The 
conditions of these grants were observed for some years, 
without exciting much complaint ; but wherever at- 
tempts were made to collect the quarter sale reserva- 
tions, especially upon lands which had been improved 
in value by the labor of the tenants, resistance was 
offered, either in the shape of verbal protestations, or 
by obstructing the execution of legal process in favor 
of the landlords. The disaffection gradually extended, 
and it was ultimately insisted on behalf of the tenants, 
that nearly all the covenants in the leases were oppres- 
sive in their operation and odious in their character, 
and that the manorial tenures which thev served to 
uphold and perpetuate, were totally inconsistent with 
democratic institutions. The subject was frequently 
discussed in the Legislature, as petitions were presented 
at almost every session, praying for the passage of a 
law relieving the tenants from the burdens under which 
they complained ; and in 1812 a commission appointed 
by that body, consisting of Judges Spencer, Wood worth, 
and Van Ness, of the supreme court of the state, made 
a report, in which they expressed their opinion that the 
quarter sale reservations were void. No definite action 
was had in the Legislature for the purpose of putting 



182 ANTI-RENT ASSOCIATIONS. 

an end to the manorial system. It was generally con- 
ceded, that it belonged exclusively to the courts to 
determine as to the validity of the quarter sale reserva- 
tions ; and that it would be violating the constitution 
of the United States, to pass any law impairing the 
obligations voluntarily assumed by the tenants. 

Disturbances occasionally took place on the lease- 
hold estates. Threats were made, and violence was 
offered to officers attempting to execute process in the 
disaffected districts. But these outbreaks were soon 
quelled, and as there did not appear to be any organized 
effort to resist the laws, the individuals concerned in 
them were usually treated with leniency. One of the 
largest manors in the state was that of Rensselaerwyck, 
lying on both sides of the Hudson River, in the coun- 
ties of Albany and Rensselaer. In 1839, upon the 
death of Stephen Van Rensselaer, the patroon of the 
manor, it was found that large arrearages of rent were 
due, and his heirs attempted to enforce their collection. 
This was resisted by the tenants ; they established 
armed patrols, and assumed various disguises, to enable 
them to maintain their opposition to the legal authori- 
ties. Eventually, it became necessary to call out a 
military force, with the aid of which a number of 
arrests were made, and peace and quiet partially re- 
stored. At the session of the Legislature in 1840, 
commissioners were appointed to mediate a settlement 
between the landlords and tenants ; but they were un- 
able to accomplish any amicable arrangement, and 
therefore nothing was done to remove the causes of 
the disaffection. Anti-Rent associations were then 
formed in all the counties in which the leasehold estates 
were situated, viz : Albany, Rensselaer, Schoharie, 
Delaware, Columbia, Greene, Sullivan, Ulster, Otsego, 



DISGUISES. 183 

Montgomery and Schenectady ; and a combined effort 
was made to induce the Legislature of the state to 
grant them the desired rehef. But the character of 
their claims was such, that they were not favorably 
considered, and but few members were willing to advo- 
cate the enactment of laws designed to abolish well- 
settled legal principles, and in effect absolutely to annul 
the covenants of the tenants, and deprive the landlords 
both of the rents and the lands upon which they were 
payable. 

Soon after the Anti-Rent associations were estab- 
lished, they organized small bands of men, who were 
armod with deadly weapons, and disguised as Indians. 
The persons composing these parties were required to 
hold themselves in readiness, at all times, to resist, by 
force, the officers of the law, in every attempt to serve 
process in favor of the landlords. Their expenses were 
defrayed by assessments upon the occupants of leased 
lands, the payment of which was rigidly enforced. The 
inevitable tendency of this systematized plan of resist- 
ance was, to produce serious and aggravated violations 
of law and order. The principal roads leading through 
the infected districts were obstructed ; and one outrage 
was committed after another, until it was dangerous 
for any one not known as an Anti-Renter to be found 
in the vicinity. Peaceable and inoffensive citizens were 
assaulted on the highway in open day, and forced to 
join in the cry of " down with the rent," or be subjected 
to the grossest personal indignities. The example of 
the Anti-Renters was followed in other sections of the 
state. The ordinary obligations of tenants under leases 
executed in pursuance of the Revised Statutes, were 
pronounced oppressive ; and violent opposition was 
offered if the landlord availed himself of the means 



184 INFLUENCE AT ELECTIONS. 

provided by law to secure his rights. In some instances 
the occupants of lands held under contract, or mort- 
gaged for the purchase money, refused to make pay- 
ments, and when legal proceedings were resorted to, 
endeavored to maintain themselves on the premises by 

force. 

In the meantime, the influence of the Anti-Renters 
was exerted at the elections. Candidates put in nomi- 
nation for the Legislature wer-_« selected with the design 
of securing their votes, and those who were suspected 
of being unfavorable to their views were sure to en- 
counter their opposition. At length they held regular 
conventions and nominated their own candidates, either 
adopting those of one or other of the two principal 
parties, or niaking a selection from both tickets ; and 
sometimes they made nominations entirely distinct and 
separate. In 1844 a number of candidates were sup- 
ported upon the faith of positive or implied pledges, 
which were deemed satisfactory to them, and in one 
or two instances the candidates nominated by the 
Anti-Rent conventions were elected. The great body 
of the tenants were probably content to seek a redress 
of their grievances through the interposition of the 
Legislature, and disapproved of the acts of violence 
which were committed ; but n many cases the bands 
of Indians were composed of lawless characters, and as 
the object of their organization was forcible resistance 
to the laws, it was not to be expected that they would 
hesitate in the use of means to render it successful. 
On the 11th of December, 1844, the sheriff of the 
countv of Columbia was met by a body of men disguised 
and armed, numbering not far from three hundred, who 
seized his official papers and committed them to the 
flames, at the same time declaring that any attempt to 



DIFFICULTIES IN COLUMBIA. 185 

distrain for rent, or serve legal process, would be re- 
sisted by force, whatever might be the consequences. 
On the 18th of the same month, a young man present 
at a meeting of the Anti-Renters, also in Columbia 
county, but not taking part in their proceedings, was 
shot dead. The firing of the weapon was said by them 
to be accidental ; but it was the natural consequence 
of permitting the Indians to carry dangerous weapons; 
and they rendered no aid to the officers in discovering 
the perpetrator of the offence. When an attempt was 
made to arrest those known to have been concerned, 
either as accessories or principals, in these outrages, 
the most violent opposition was offered. Several of 
the ringleaders were apprehended, however, and com- 
mitted to the jail of the county, in the city of Hudson. 
The Indians then threatened to rescue their comrades 
bv forcible means. The citizens were immediately en- 
rolled and armed, for the purpose of sustaining the author- 
ities, and application made to the state Executive for 
assistance. Governor Bouck at once held a consulta- 
tion with the state officers, at which Mr. Wright, the 
governor elect, was present, and merisures were taken 
to suppress the disturbances. A large military force 
was ordered out, and the outbreak finally quelled. 
About the same time, a murder was committed in the 
county of Rensselaer, in an altercation growing out of 
the Anti-Rent difficulties. 

These alarmins: violations of law and order occa- 
sioned considerable excitement throughout the state. 
The public anxiously looked to the Legislature which 
was soon to assemble at Albany, for the adoption of 
such measures as would restore tranquillity, and pre- 
vent the recurrence of similar disturbances. The ap- 
pearance of Governor Wright's message was also 



186 GOVERNOR S MESSAGE. 

awaited with intense interest. It was not doubted 
that the dignity and supremacy of the laws would be 
maintained, so far as it depended upon himself; still, 
every one desired to know what were his views upon 
the subject. There were other important questions 
too, which it was expected would be brought forward 
during the session, and an expression of opinion from 
him was entitled to no little weight. 

On the 1st day of January, 1845, Mr. Wright took 
the oath of office and entered upon the discharge of his 
duties as governor. The Legislature assembled on the 
7th of the month. At the caucus held by the demo- 
cratic members of the Assembly, on the evening previ- 
ous to the session, some feeling was manifested by both 
factions ; the contest for the various offices was Vv'arm 
and spirited, and resulted in the nomination, by a small 
majority, of a candidate for speaker, known to be 
friendly to the immediate completion of the unfinished 
canals, who was elected on the following day in the 
House. An attempt was made to induce the governor 
to take part in the canvass for the legislative offices ; 
but he determined not to interfere in the dissensions of 
the party, or do anything to prevent the restoration of 
that harmony which was so necessary in order to pre- 
serve their ascendency in the state. It was his wish 
to pursue a calm and temperate, but firm and inde- 
pendent course. He was unwilling to exert the influ- 
ence of his official position to favor any class ; though 
he always reserved the right, as an individual, to speak 
frankly with any one who sought to know his opinions. 

The message was an able, but lengthy document. 
There were reasons for its being so voluminous, which 
would not ordinarily have existed. Most of it was pre- 
pared before the disturbances took place in the Anti- 



STATE FINANCES. 187 

Rent district, and these were of too great moment to 
be dismissed with a brief notice. Bes'.bs, he was so 
reluctant to give cause for offence, that ho did not de- 
sire to leave an opportunity to have it said, that he had 
any particular organ among the democratic members 
of either branch of the Legislature ; and his views, 
therefore, were presented at length, upon all questions 
which he thought could possibly arise. If he was asked 
to approve of measures, in opposition to the sentiments 
contained in his message, no one would have the right 
to complain because he withheld his sanction. 

The condition of the finances was presented in a 
clear and forcible manner, and the opinions of the ex- 
ecutive freely and unreservedly expressed. He stated, 
that after complying with the conditions of the law of 
1842, and applying the amount pledged to the sinking 
fund, there would still remain a surplus of the canal 
revenues for the previous fiscal year, of upwards of 
one hundred and ninety-seven thousand dollars. By 
the terms of a law passed in 1844, this surplus was re- 
quired to supply the deficiency in the contributions 
of former years to the sinking fund; but this fact the 
governor omitted to mention in his message, although 
he declared, in express terms, his opposition to its di- 
version to any other object except the payment of the 
existing debt. He said : — ■ 

" The canal fund, however, as well as the general 
fund, are burdened with a heavy debt, and it remains 
to be seen, whether the obligations of this debt, must 
not as effectually control the discretion of the Legisla- 
ture, in the application of this surplus money, as any 
pledge which the law of 1812 could have imposed upon 
it. The interest of this debt, it is true, is carefully pro- 
vided for, by that law. Thus, without any provision 



188 THE SURPLUS. 

for the extinction of the principal, may be satisfactory 
to some, but such is not my view of the rule which 
binds the faith and honor of the state. I know of no 
obligation to meet the accruing interest, which does 
not demand, with equal force,, the payment of the prin- 
cipal as it falls due ; and so far as the means are pos- 
sessed, the failure to apply them, to the one case, 
appears to me to be as much a breach of the faith 
pledged by the contract, as in the other. Suppose the 
creditor consent to the postponement of the payment 
of his principal money. Between individuals acting 
for themselves as principals, such consent would au- 
thorize the diversion of the funds ; but if the agent or 
the debtor were dealing with the creditor in person, 
would such consent justify the agent, without the sanc- 
tion of his principal, in the diversion of the funds placed 
in his hands to pay the debt? And is not this our 
case ? Are we not the m_ere agents of the people in 
this matter? They have permitted debts to be con- 
tracted upon their credit, and at their risk, to construct 
the present state canals. The moneys in our hands are 
the proceeds of the investments thus made, and came 
from the very source upon which they relied to pay 
these debts, and save them from oppressive taxation. 
Have we the right, as faithful agents, without the con- 
sent of our principals, even though their creditors should 
consent, to divert their funds to other objects, and con- 
tinue the debt upon them ? I strongly incline to the 
opinion that we have not." 

But in order that there might be no pretext for ap- 
propriating this surplus to other purposes, the governor 
proceeded to state, that of the whole amount of canal 
stocks redeemable in the months of July and January 
followmg, more than one million of dollars was yet to 



PAYMENT OF THE DEBT. 189 

be provided for. He then added : — " If this be a cor- 
rect representation of the means and liabilities of the 
canal fund for the current year, there would seem to 
be an end to discussion as to the appropriation of these 
means to any other object than to the payment of the 
debt, unless the payment is to be postponed. I have 
already expressed my views in relation to such a di- 
version : and I am constrained to believe that, whether 
considered as a question of principle, or one of econ- 
omy, the policy would be equally unsound." 

The general views of the executive upon the whole 
financial policy of the state, were set forth with ex- 
traordinary ability. While congratulating the Leg- 
islature upon the favorable prospects for the future, 
he cautioned them against a departure from that safe 
and sound rule, the observance of which had elevated 
the credit of the state and improved the condition of 
her treasury, and promised so much of prosperity in its 
c n'inuance. 

" Our canal revenues," he said, " are very large, and ^ 
nothing but the enormous debt charged upon them, 
keeps the fund so poor as to require the aid of direct 
taxation to meet its liabilities. Separate from the old 
debt, more than one million annually of these revenues 
are consumed in the payment of interest alone. This 
must be a constant drain upon the fund, and nothing 
but the payment of the debt can arrest the corroding 
malady. Postponement can promise no relief, and may 
bring accumulated dangers. 

" A departure from the sound rule of using our means 
rather than our credit, has brought this debt upon our 
favorite and favored fund. The only necessarily dan- 
gerous stage in our canal policy was passed, when the 
Erie and Champlain canals were completed and be- 



f 



190 ORIGINAL POLICY. 

cam3 productive ; and a sound and wise financial 
policy, a faithful administration, and most fortunately 
located canals, carried us through that stage with 
safety. Up to that period, borrowing was necessarily 
the principal resource, and some of the richest reve- 
nues of the state were set apart to meet the payments 
of interest, while the constitution of the state was made 
to pledge the investments, together with these revenues, 
for the return of the principal. And even under all 
these safeguards, loans were made with moderation, 
and the woi ks were prosecuted in a measured pace. 
After they were completjd, payment of the debt be- 
came the object of solicitude, and m:-ans were accu- 
mulated and the stocks purchased and cancelled, in 
advance of their falling due, when thsy could be ob- 
tained on reasonable terms. 

"In the meantime, other canals were constructed, 
but the expenditures were kept within the limits of the 
canal revenues, without losing sight of ample provision 
for the payment of the existing debts. As an evidence 
of this, before the policy was changed, the payments 
made and the inoneys accumulated applicable to those 
payments, had left less than five millions of the canal 
debt unprovided for. The surplus revenues of the 
canals were accomplishing much annually towards the 
construction of new canals, and the enlargement and 
improvement of the old, and still yielding their annual 
contributions to a sinking fund, intended to remove the 
small remaining debt, as the principal should fall due. 

" In this state of things, a change of policy come over 
us, which was based upon a new financial rule of ac- 
tion. The existing revenues were looked upon merely 
as a fund to meet the interest upon further loans ; it 
being assumed as safe to depend upon anticipated im- 



CHANGE IN THE SYSTEM. 191 

provements of those revenues for the payment of the 
principal of the debts. Indeed, it is beheved the prin- 
ciple was carried even farther, and that anticipated 
revenues were depended upon, to meet accumulations 
of interest, beyond the power of the existing revenues, 
as well as to cover the payments of principal. 

" The reflection does not seem to have occurred to 
the authors of thi.^ new financial policy, that any dis- 
appointment in their anticipations of improved reve- 
nues, must c^ive their svstem a shock it could not 
survive, by imposing a tax upon the people, or dis- 
appointment and loss upon the public creditors, either 
of which alternatives could not fail to arrest the further 
accumulation of debt upon such a basis. It would seem 
also to have been overlooked, that the money-lender 
could draw as accurate a distinction as themselves be- 
tween their means and their anticipations; and that 
when the means should have been exhausted, the an- 
ticipations might not command the required capital 
even to test their soundness or their fallacv. 

" In any event, loans were obtained in unexampled 
amounts, until the limit of the existing revenues waa 
reached, when the public credit wholly failed them. 
Works of internal improvement were prosecuted upon 
a scale so extensive as to bring the state into compe- 
tition with itself, and the wa^es of labor and the cost 
of subsistence upon one contract wei-e enhanced by 
the demand for labor and subsistence upon another. 
An arrest of the means bv a failure of the credit of ths 
state, put an end to this strife and to the nevv public 
works together, and when a return to the old and safe 
policy was attempted, it was found that a large pro- 
portion of the moneys which had been accumulated to 
meet the old canal debt, were rendered unavailable by 



192 EVIL EFFECTS. 

having been loaned to banks v/hich could not pay ; that 
the accruing surplus of the canal revenues, beyond the 
current annual expenses, was covered by claims for 
interest ; that the general fund must sink under the 
accumulated and accumulating demands upon it, for 
interest upon public stocks loaned to railroad companies 
which had failed, or were in a failing condition ; that 
temporary loans had been made to the amount of more 
than a million and a half, which were impending over 
the treasury, without the means of payment ; and that 
contractors and laborers upon the public works were 
without pay, or with the unmarketable stocks of the 
state in the place of the money to which their contracts 
entitled them. 

" The issue was therefore present and unavoidable. 
The people must be taxed, or the public creditors must 
suffer loss, and the public stocks be dislionored. A re- 
sort to the credit of the state was made unavoidable to 
meet these urgent and instant demands, the accruing 
interest upon the enlarged debt, and to put the canals 
in repair for the approaching season of navigation. 
Public distrust had taken the place of public confi- 
dence, and a substitution of the paying for the borrow- 
ing policy was made indispensable, before a resort to 
credit could command a response in capital. 

"This was done by the act of 1842. The effect of 
this measure was almost electric, and was felt not 
merely throughout the state, but throughout the Union. 
Under its solemn assurances money was obtained upon 
loan to relieve the pressing necessities of the public 
treasury, and to preserve the public faith and honor, 
by a prompt payment, at the specie value, of the instal- 
ments of interest upon the public securities. From 
this time the credit of the state rose rapidly, and soon 



UNFINISHED WORKS. 193 

attained the par of money ; and by the scrupulous ad- 
herence to the poHcy and the pledges of that law which 
has characterized our subsequent legislation, it has now 
reached its accustomed honorable elevation." 

In regard to the completion of the enlargement, and 
the prosecution of the work on the unfinished canals, 
there was no attempt in the message at evasion or cir- 
cumlocution. A manly directness in the expression of 
his opinions ever characterized the author, and this 
trait in his character was most forcibly exemplified in 
everything he said having reference to the finances of 
the state. In his letter written previous to the election, 
he held out no hope that he could be induced to favor 
increased expenditures, until the most ample means 
were provided for the payment of the debt ; and in his 
message the same sentiments were urged upon the con- 
sideration of the Legislature, as of the highest impor- 
tance. Not only was this the case ; but as if apprehen- 
sive that some measure might be proposed which he 
could not approve, he avowed his opposition in advance, 
in order that there might be no mistake or misappre- 
hension upon the subject. " I am well aware,'' he said, 
" that objects of expenditure, of great and extended 
public interest, will be pressed upon your attention, and 
will press themselves upon the minds and feelings of 
those whose immediate constituencies have a more 
direct interest in their resumption and completion. 
The Erie canal enlargement, the Genesee Valley canal, 
and the Black River canal, are prominent among these 
objects, and deeply enlist the feelings and interests of 
large and worthy portions of our fellow-citizens. It 
would certainly be a more grateful task to recommend 
a compliance with these earnest wishes, than to feel 
impelled by a sense of public duty, to point out the 

9 



194 CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS. 

necessity of their present disappointment. Yet we 
must not forget, when acting upon these great questions, 
that the interests of the citizens of the whole state are 
committed to our charge, and that a measure which 
would be wrong towards them as a mass, cannot be 
right, because portions of the mass would be benefited 
by it. And it would certainly be wrong to our citizens 
as a whole, again to depress, or even to hazard, the 
credit of the state, by a diversion of any portion of the 
canal revenues required to pay the existing debt, and 
preserve the public faith. It would be wrong to them 
to disregard the letter or spirit of the pledges of the 
law of 1842, and thus incur the risk of a necessity for 
increased or longer-continued taxation." 

The governor expressed his cordial approbation of 
the constitutional amendments adopted at the session 
of the Legislature in 1844, and earnestly recommended 
their incorporation into the constitution. He was very 
anxious to obviate the necessity of calling a convention, 
which he plainly intimated would be the only alterna- 
tive if the amendments failed to receive the required 
vote of two-thirds. One section of the democratic 
party was decided in its opposition ; but the other sec- 
tion insisted that a convention should be held, if the 
amendments were not adopted ; and nearly all the 
whigs openly avowed themselves in favor of the project. 
He believed that if the amendments were sustained, a 
reasonable hope would be afforded that other desired 
reforms might be successfully urged in the manner pro- 
vided by the constitution of 1821, and thus one cause 
of dissension would be removed, and a great expense 
avoided, while new safeguards would be provided for 
the protection of the people. On this point he said : 
*' Our present constitution has remained the funda- 



CONVENTION. 195 

mental law for nearly a quarter of a century, several 
amendments having been in that time adopted, in con- 
formity vvith the provision of that instrument for its 
own amendment. Hitherto that provision has satisfied 
the public mind, and led to the amendments demanded 
by the popular feeling and judgment. I consider it ex- 
tremely desirable that this should continue to be found 
practically true, and that such a degree of harmony 
should at all times prevail between the popular will and 
the legislative action, in reference to further proposed 
amendments, as shall supersede demands for consti- 
tutional change in any other form. It is a matter of 
public notoriety, that a portion of our citizens have, for 
some time thought, and still think, that a call for a con- 
vention to revise our constitution, has already become 
expedient. I have been induced to believe that the 
desire for amendments upon the very points embraced 
in those now under discussion, and perhaps upon one 
or two others in reference to which propositions are 
also now before you, has excited this feeling and given 
it its present strength. I know that a further limitation 
of the power of the Executive over appointments to 
office, is also a subject upon which many desire an 
amendment of the constitution. Speaking personally, 
I hope I may be believed, when I say that any curtail- 
ment in that branch of the executive powers and 
duties, while I am to be honored with the exercise of 
these high functions, would be most grateful to me ; 
and I am prepared further to say, that I believe many 
of the officers now appointed upon the nomination of 
the governor and the consent of the Senate, might be 
directly elected by the people, or otherwise appointed, 
with equal safety to the public, and more in accordance 
with the popular feeling. If the time shall come, how- 

6 



196 ANTI-RENT DISTURBANCES. 

ever, when the requisite assent of the Legislature shall 
fail to be obtained, to authorize a submission to the 
people of such propositions for amendments, as a clear 
majority of the freemen of the state shall demand and 
believe to be necessary for the protection of their 
rights, discontents will be experienced, and other forms 
of amendment will be proposed, and perhaps success- 
fully urged. Under this conviction, I feel it to be an 
imperative duty, respectfully but earnestly to request 
you to give to these, and all other proposed amend- 
ments w^hich may come before you, such calm, un- 
prejudiced and thorough consideration, as shall be cal- 
culated to satisfy our common constituents with the 
conclusions to Vv^iich you shall come." 

The various pubhc charities and literary institutions 
of the state were all referred to in the message in ap- 
proving terms, and the importance of fostering and 
encouraging the agricultural interests in the state, by 
extending the annual appropriations which were about 
to expire, was urged upon the favorable consideration 
of the Legislature. The existence of the Anti-Rent 
disturbances, and the certain tendencies of such infrac- 
tions of the law and violations of good order, as had 
recently been witnessed, were depicted in plain but 
emphatic language. He warned those concerned in the 
perpetration of such outrages, that they could not hope 
to escape detection ; that they v/ould be certain in the 
end to meet with condign punishment ; and that all the 
means and the power placed at his disposal, or in his 
hands, would be employed in enforcing the laws and 
preserving the public tranquillity. He added, that he 
felt precluded from discussing the grievances of the 
tenants, or inquiring how far legislative relief might be 
extended to them, so long as their violent and unlawful 



HIS RECOMMENDATIONS. 197 

proceedings were continued ; " for," said he, *•' while the 
question between the proprietors and the tenants was 
whether the leasehold tenures should be perpetuated, or 
the rents should be commuted upon fair and reasonable 
terms, and fee simple titles should be given upon the 
payment of a capital in money, which invested at a 
stipulated rate would reproduce the rents to the land- 
lord, the controversy was one in which the feelings and 
sympathies of our people were deeply enlisted, and 
strongly inclining in favor of the tenants. Then the 
question was, not whether rights of property were to 
be trampled upon, the obligations of contracts violently 
resisted, the laws of the state set at defiance, the peace 
of society disturbed, and human life sacrificed; but in 
what way contracts, onerous in their exactions, and 
tenures in their nature and character uncongenial with 
the habits and opinions of our people, could be peace- 
ably, and justly, and constitutionally modified to meet 
the changed circumstances of the times ; and then I 
might have invited your careful attention to the con- 
siderations growing out of these issues." 

The governor also recommended the passage of laws 
to prevent persons from appearing disguised and armed, 
and conferring additional power and authority upon 
the executive, to secure the prompt suppression of dis- 
turbances. During the session, a law was enacted, 
declaring it a misdemeanor to appear disguised and 
armed ; also one authorizing the governor, upon the 
application of the local authorities of any county, to 
issue his proclamation declaring such county in a state 
of insurrection, and making it felony to resist the ser- 
vice of process from and alter that time, and until the 
proclamation was revoked. In the month of January, 
an Anti-Rent state convention was held at Berne in 



198 PETITION OF THE ANTI-RENTERS. 

the county of Albany, at which a petition to be pre- 
sented to the Legislature was adopted, praying for the 
following measures of relief : — 

*' For the passage of an act repealing all laws grant- 
ing special privileges to landlords in the collection of 
their rents, so that they shall only be permitted to use 
and enjoy the common right of other creditors, in the 
collection of their dues, and none other. 

'•' For the passage of an act authorizing tenants, when 
prosecuted for rents, to set up as a defence against such 
prosecution, the want of a good and sufficient title to 
the premises in the landlord or prosecutor ; and that 
such defence be a bar to any recovery against such 
tenant until the title of the landlord be fully established ; 
to apply in those cases where lands have been leased 
for a long series of years or in perpetuity. 

" For the passage of a law authorizing and directing 
the assessors of the several towns in this state to esti- 
mate and consider the amount of rents charged on 
leasehold premises, leased for a term of fifteen years 
and upwards, situated in their respective towns, as the 
interest of a principal, which principal shall be assessed 
to the owners of such premises, and the taxes thereon 
be paid in the towns within which such lands are 
situated, for their benefit, and in case of default of pay- 
ment of such taxes, that such leasehold premises be 
returned in like manner as non-resident lands, and the 
interest of the landlord sold therefor." 

None of these acts were passed by the Legislature 
of 1845 ; a majority of the members concurring with 
Governor Wright in the opinion, that it was unwise 
and inexpedient to consider the complaints of the ten- 
ants, while they were arrayed in hostility to the civil 
authorities of the state. 



ELECTION OF SENATORS. 199 

In a few days after the commencement of the session, 
a resolution passed both branches of the Legislature, 
providing for the election of senators in Congress. In 
addition to the incumbents appointed by Governor 
Bouck, there were a number of other candidates pro- 
posed by their friends. Both sections of the party 
exerted themselves to the utmost to procure the elec- 
tion of persons who favored their particular views. 
Governor Wright was urgently pressed to interfere in 
the matter ; yet he declined taking a part in behalf of 
any one of the different individuals whose names were 
mentioned. With the appointment of Mr. Foster he 
had not been pleased, and he frankly stated his reasons, 
both to the friends and opponents of that gentleman, 
and his desire that some other candidate should be 
selected. When his feelings were made known, it 
occasioned some unkind remarks among the more vio- 
lent members of one section of the party ; but they 
ought not, and perhaps did not, expect anything differ- 
ent from him. He could but know that he had most 
seriously injured his political prospects, in a national 
point of view, by retiring from the Senate ; and that he 
should entertain, and avow his preference, to be suc- 
ceeded by some one not suspected of being unfriendly 
towards himself, was most natural. He may have 
wronged Mr. Foster by his suspicions ; but if so, there 
are many others who have fallen into the same error. 
The course of the governor was very mild and moder- 
ate, and the more ardent partisans belonging to the 
faction opposed to the nomination of the incumbents, 
censured him almost as freely as those upon the other 
side. The caucus nominated John A. Dix as the suc- 
cessor of Mr. Wright, and Mr. Dickinson was con- 
tinued in the office to which he had been appointed, 



200 STATE OFFICERS. 

and also nominated for the full term of six years. After 
the nominations were made, overtures were held out 
by a number of the leading whig members of the 
Legislature, for a combination with those democrats 
who had voted against Mr. Dickinson in the caucus, 
to elect some person in his stead who would be more 
acceptable to the latter. The interference of the per- 
sonal friends of the governor, who were understood as 
expressing his sentiments, prevented any such design 
from being accomplished, and the candidates of the 
caucus were fairly and honorably supported by all the 
members of the party. 

The excitement growing out of the senatorial elec- 
tion had scarcely subsided, when the caucus was held 
for the nomination of state officers. Mr. Flagrg re- 
ceived more than two-thirds of the votes, and was 
nominated for re-appointment to the office of comp- 
troller. The views of Colonel Young in regard to the 
financial policy of the state, the completion of the un- 
finished canals, and the appropriation of the public 
credit for the support and assistance of railroad corpo- 
rations, and more particularly the open and decisive 
manner in which he had uttered his sentiments, had 
caused more bitterness of feeling to be manifested to- 
wards himself than to others who agreed with him in 
epinion. He was defeated in the caucus by one ma- 
jority. Some of the other votes were equally close, 
as each faction was anxious to secure as much strength 
as possible in the canal board. Governor Wright was 
careful not to connect himself with the active system 
of electioneering kept up during the contest, though he 
certainly regretted that Colonel Young and others were 
defeated, for attempting to uphold the same opinions 
which he entertained. Effi)rts were made after this 



t 



CABINET AT WASHINGTON. 201 

caucus also, to induce a portion of the democratic 
members to disregard the party nominations, and elect 
the unsuccessful candidates, with the aid and co-opera- 
tion of the opposition members. The governor at once 
interposed his influence, with the consent of Colonel 
Young, and succeeded in preventing the violent rup- 
ture of the party organization which such a movement 
must have produced. 

Mr. Polk was inaugurated President of the United 
States on the 4th of March 1845. The construction 
of his cabinet had been a matter of deep solicitude in the 
state of New York, and when the names of its members 
were announced, one section of the party as warmly 
approved, as the other unequivocally condemned. From 
this time forward the influence of the national admin- 
istration, if not decidedly opposed to Mr. Wright, was 
never cordially exerted in his favor, even in the state, 
whose electors, upon the faith of his indorsement, had 
elevated Mr. Polk to the presidency. The same influ- 
ences were brought to bear against him Avhich were 
employed to undermine the popularity of other distin- 
guished leaders of the democratic pai ty in New York. 
At one time, George Clinton was looked upon as the 
most prominent candidate to succeed Mr. Jefferson in 
the presidential chair. Dissensions and divisions were 
then fomented and encouraged in his own state, and 
he was thrust aside to make room for a southern man. 
Tompkins and the younger Clinton encountered the 
same species of opposition ; and it was again attempted 
by the southern and middle states against Mr. Van 
Buren. The influence and firmness of General Jack- 
son alone prevented the success of the combination. 
Individually, Mr. Wright could not complain, because 
the ofl[ice of Secretary of the Treasury was tendered 

9* 



202 AMEND3IENTS DEFEATED. 

to him. But it must have been well known at Wash- 
ington, that he would not accept it. He had been 
elected governor of the state of New York when, it 
is not unhkely, any other member of the party would 
have failed ; and he was not disposed to shrink from 
any responsibility that he had voluntarily incurred- 
Previous to the election, it was said by his opponents, 
that if both he and Mr. Polk were elected, a cabinet 
appointment would be offered to him, and accepted. 
When these rumors were first circulated, his friends 
contradicted them, and pledged themselves, that if the 
people of New York made choice of him as their gov- 
ernor, he would discharge the duties until the last day 
of his official term. It was a solemn trust which had 
been committed to his hands, and he would neither 
surrender it, except to the successor whom the electors 
should appoint, nor desert his post, for the sake of being 
relieved from its burdens or its responsibilities. The 
office of secretary of tlie treasury was one requir- 
ing a high grade of talents. Few men could have 
filled it as well — none better, than Mr. Wright. In 
declining it, he was influenced by honorable and praise- 
worthy motives — such as did not detract from the 
unselfishness of his conduct, but served to place that 
noble feature in his character in a yet more attractive 

light. 

The constitutional amendments lingered along for 
some time in the Legislature, and it was not until a 
bill providing for a convention was introduced, that 
they were pressed to a final vote. The democrats had 
a majority in the Assembly — a bare majority, however, 
and not sufficient to carry any measure requiring a 
vote of tv^o-thirds. When the question was taken, the 
amendments were not sustained by the constitutional 



BILL FOR A CONVENTION. 203 

majority ; consequently, all the eftbrts of the friends of 
reform, for the four years during which these amend- 
ments were urged, had entirely failed of accomplishing 
their object. The question then arose, as to what 
should be done. The utter hopelessness of amending 
the constitution, in the tedious manner pointed out in 
that instrument, where there were a respectable mi- 
nority opposed to such amendment, was clearly demon- 
strated. A majority of the democratic members of the 
Legislature elected in 1844, were in favor of a conven- 
tion, as the only mode that could then be adopted to 
obtain those reforms which the people desired. But 
that section of the party who had originally opposed 
the amendments, insisted that their duty was dis- 
charged by voting for their presentation to the people, 
and they v/ould go no farther. The other side con- 
tended, that this was but tampering with the known 
wishes of their constituents, and that although the for- 
mer had voted for the amendments when it was certain 
that they could not pass, yet they were in fact opposed 
to them. This was denied by the other party, and 
probably was not strictly true. Their individual opin- 
ions, doubtless, were adverse to the adoption of the 
amendments, but it is not likely that thev would have 
resisted the wishes of their constituents, which had 
been almost unanimously expressed in their favor. 

The whig members of the Legislature, at the com- 
mencement of the session, avowed their preferences for 
a convention. The Native Americans, who had chosen 
one senator and seventeen members of Assembly, at 
the election in 1844, were also disposed to favor the 
project, in the hope of imposing additional restrictions 
upon the exercise of the right of suffrage by natural- 
ized citizens. The convention bill was discussed for 



204 OPPOSITION TO THE MEASURE. 

several weeks, and passed the Assembly on the 22nd 
of April, by a vote of eighty-three to thirty-three. Of 
the democratic members, thirty-two voted in its favor, 
and thirty-one against it. Among the latter were one 
or two members who were friendly to the constitutional 
amendments, but who still thought that they might be 
secured without resorting to a convention. All the 
whig members, except two, voted for the bill. The 
Native Americans present gave a unanimous vote in 
its favor. In the Senate, the passage of the bill was 
resisted with much warmth, and the debate between 
the speakers belonging to the two sections of the demo- 
cratic party, was conducted with unusual asperity and 
bitterness. It Avas objected by the opponents of the 
measure, that the bill contemplated the submission of 
the amendments collectively to the people, for their 
approval or rejection, and they desired every proposi- 
tion to be separately presented. It was then amended, 
by leaving it to the agents of the people, the delegates 
in the convention, to decide the question of submission ; 
but the opposition to the passage of the bill was still 
continued. The main argument, aside from the mode 
of submission, with the opponents of the bill was, that 
the people had not asked for a convention ; but as the 
bill provided for ascertaining their wishes upon the 
subject previous to the election of delegates, those who 
sustained it did not regard this objection as of much 
force. Besides, more than two-thirds of the members 
of the Assembly voted for the bill, and unless they mis- 
represented their constituents, it was evident that a 
majority of the electors in the state desired its passage. 
This question was settled at the November election 
in 1845, by the popular vote, which was nearly unani- 
mous for a convention. 



APPROPRIATION OF THE SURPLUS. 205 

After a long contest, the convention bill passed the 
Senate, and the Assembly having concurred in the 
amendment, it was presented to the governor. The 
friends of a more liberal system of improvements than 
had been countenanced by the Legislature of the state 
since the year 1842, indulged some hopes that the gov- 
ernor would refuse to sign the bill. But he saw that 
the real cause of the opposition to its passage, with the 
great majority of those who voted against it, was the 
fear that the financial amendments would be proposed 
and adopted in the convention, and he could not gratify 
their wishes without sacrificing the principles which 
he had advocated ever since his entrance into public 
life. He believed that the people desired the conven- 
tion ; he had no fears that an " excess of democracy" 
would be infused into the constitution; the bill was 
signed, and the electors of the state approved and rati- 
fied the act. 

Towards the close of the session of 1846, a bill was 
passed by the votes of the whig members of the Legis- 
lature, and of those friendly to the completion of the 
unfinished canals, appropriating the surplus of one hun- 
dred and ninety-seven thousand dollars, to which the 
governor had alluded in his message, to the prosecution 
of those works. This surplus, in fact, did not exist, as 
the law of 1844 required the deficiencies of former 
years to be made up before there could be a surplus ; 
and why such an appropriation should have been made, 
in violation of the law, and in opposition to the recom- 
mendations of the Executive, can only be explained 
upon the supposition, that it was intended to excite 
feelings of hostility against Governor Wright. If it 
originated in any other motive, it is hardly possible 
that there would have been so much feeling upon his 



206 VETO OF THE GOVERNOR. 

returning the bill with his objections. He regretted 
the necessity that compelled him to interpose his veto, 
but not to have done so, would have been totally in- 
consistent with his whole previous course, and the doc- 
trines laid down in his message. It is evident that a 
number of the democratic members did vote, in the 
first place, under a mistake or misapprehension ; for 
upon taking the question after the return of the bill, 
they voted against it : all of them may have been 
equally deceived, but this is hardly probable, because 
several of the democratic newspapers published in 
those localities immediately interested in the passage of 
the bill, expressed their disapprobation of the veto. 

The passage of the convention bill, and the veto of 
Governor Wright, produced so much additional ill-feel- 
ing between the two sections of the democratic party, 
that they did not hold the customary legislative caucus 
previous to the adjournment. A majority of them, 
however, signed and published an address to their con- 
stituents, approving of the course of the Executive. He 
was willing to leave all the questions upon which there 
had been a difference of opinion, to the decision of their 
common constituents. If issues had been made, they 
were not of his seeking. If he had contributed to in- 
crease the dissensions in the party, it was done in the 
discharge of what he conceived to be his duty. He 
was asked to withhold his signature from a bill which 
the people of the state demanded, and to ratify another 
which it was known he could not. and would not ap- 
prove. Who does not honor Silas W^right, for the 
manliness and integrity of purpose he displayed, in 
rising above the trammels of party as the governor of 
the whole people of the state, and in adhering to his 
principles at the sacrifice of a temporary popularity ? 



MURDER IN DELAWARE. 207 -j V 

The enactment of the law to prevent persons from 
appearing disguised and armed, quieted the disturbances 
in the Anti-Rent districts for several weeks ; but in the 
month of March they were again renewed in the county 
of Delaware, and in several cases the execution of pro. 
cess was resisted, though having no connection what- 
soever with rent. A number of persons were arrested 
for appearing disguised and armed, and three of them 
were convicted and sentenced to imprisonment in the 
state prison. The principal instigator of the disturb- 
ances in the county of Columbia, in December 1844, 
was also tried in March, but the jury failed to agree. 
He was afterwards tried a second time, found guilty, 
and sentenced to the state prison. Notwithstanding 
the firmness of the Executive, and of the courts and 
juries before whom the offenders were brought, the 
Indians continued their outrages, merely removing the 
scene from one section of the state to another. The 
energetic proceedings of the citizens of Delaware 
county, restored peace and good order for the time, 
though disturbances occasionally took place in the ad- 
joining county of Schoharie. In May, one of the dep- 
uties of the sheriff of Columbia county was fired at 
several times, and severely wounded ; and in the follow- 
ing month the county of Cattaraugus, in the western 
part of the state, became the theatre where this insur- 
rectionary spirit was exhibited. But the crowning act 
of these seditious movements was committed in Dela- 
ware county, on the 7th of August. The under sheriff, 
"while quietly and inoffensively engaged in the dis- 
charge of his official duty," in open daylight, was shot 
dead in the midst of a crowd of spectators, some two 
hundred and fifty of whom were disguised and armed, 
and none offering to prevent the commission of the 



208 GOVERNOR'S PROCLAMATION. 

offence, or to apprehend its perpetrator. From twelve 
to twenty guns were fired, and three balls took effect 
in the body of the unfortunate officer. This startling 
murder aroused the indignation of the whole commu- 
nity, and every effort was made by the civil authorities 
to arrest those who were present at the time of the oc- 
currence in disguise, or were suspected of having par- 
ticipated in the disturbances which resulted in this 
terrible catastrophe. But the Indians were so nume- 
rous, and so determined upon offering violent resistance 
to the officers of the law, that application was made to 
Governor Wright to issue his proclamation, declaring 
the county in a state of insurrection, and to order out 
a military force for the protection and security of the 
peaceable citizens of the county, and of the courts be- 
fore whom the offenders might be arraigned. On the 
27th of August, the governor issued his proclamation, 
in accordance with the provisions of the law passed at 
the previous session of the Legislature, and at the same 
time directed a body of troops to be mustered into the 
service of the state, and ordered on duty in the county 
of Delaware. The proclamation met with universal 
favor, except among the Anti-Renters. Its tone and 
manner were highly appropriate. After reciting the 
facts and circumstances which had impressed him with 
the belief that the proclamation was necessary, he thus 
addresses himself to the citizens of the state, and offers 
his advice to the parties in the controversy : — 

" To the freemen of the state I can make no stronger 
appeal than is presented in the simple narration of facts 
I have set forth. These facts show the regular prog- 
ress to its result in crime and blood, of every attempt 
to set aside the regularly constituted tribunals of civil 
society, organized for the protection of personal rights 



DISGUISES AND OATHS. 209 

and the redress of personal wrongs, and to make might 
the measure of right between citizen and citizen. Masks 
and disguises are never assumed to protect men in the 
performance of acts towards their neighbors, which the 
judgment and the conscience approve ; and no other 
acts will promote the peace, order, or prosperity of so- 
ciety, or the happiness, or true interest of him who per- 
forms the action. Secret oaths are only administered 
to add to the protection of the masks, when the con- 
science proclaims that he who is trusted to look behind 
the mask may be as dangerous as he who looks upon 
it ; that the danger is in the truth, and is to be appre- 
hended from all who can tell it. When the mind be- 
comes so deluded as to rely upon protections like these, 
and to act from the promptings which a sense of secu- 
rity of this character, if indulged, will never fail to en- 
gender, high crimes are the certain fruit, and the charm 
of the protection vanishes only when the guilt is in- 
curred. The intelligent freemen of our state will not 
seek to change their peaceful, and happy, and prosper- 
ous institutions, the fruit of the toil and blood of our 
revolutionary fathers, for a government resting upon 
such a basis, and producing such fruits. Justice is the 
emblem of their government, and her light is truth. 

" To the tenants who disapprove of this disguised 
and armed force, and have refused to give their aid or 
countenance to its organization and action ; and they 
are believed to constitute a numerous and influential 
body of men ; the present presents a peculiarly appro- 
priate occasion to mark more distinctly their separation 
from proceedings which cannot fail to be fatal to a good 
cause, and to prejudice good men. If they feel that 
the tenures by which they hold their farms are onerous ; 
not in accordance with the genius of our institutions, or 



210 ADVICE TO LANDLORDS. 

the spirit of our people ; and that they ought to be 
changed to freeholds ; let them see, and feel also, that 
the natural sympathies of the great body of our free- 
holders must be with them in these impressions, and 
that the sure way to avert these sympathies, is to 
attempt to accomplish a worthy end by w^orthy 
means. Let them remember that their present tenures 
have resulted from voluntary contracts, freely entered 
into between themselves, or their worthy ancestors, and 
the landlords from whom they hold ; and that the 
readiest, if not the only way, to make the change they 
desire, is by a contract equally voluntary, between 
themselves and those same landlords. Let them be 
assured that, if they fulfil their contracts hitherto, and 
offer terms of commutation of their titles, which are 
just, and which appear to be so to fair and impartial 
minds, an enlightened public opinion will bring about 
the acceptance of such terms by the landlords. 

" To the proprietors of these leasehold estates, the 
landlords of these tenants, the present crisis should not 
be without its lessons of wisdom. Indefensible as have 
been the attempts to repudiate their solemn contracts, 
and to wrest from them by force the remedies secured 
to them bv the constitution and the laws for breaches 
of those contracts, they should not fail to see, at the 
foundation of these lawless proceedings, a rapidly 
growing dissatisfaction at the perpetuation of tenures, 
not in accordance with those by which the great body 
of the lands of our country are held, and not consonant 
with the feelings of our people. And, w^hile the power 
of the state must and will be exerted to enforce the 
law, protect private rights, preserve the peace and order 
of society, give security to the life of the citizen, and 
prevent the prevalence of anarchy and violence, so far 



WARNING TO THE TENANTS. 211 

as it rests in their power, the}^ should be ready to re- 
move the causes of like troubles for the future, by a 
prompt and liberal arrangement of arrears of rent, 
whenever an opportunity shall offer ; and, by tendering 
generous terms to the tenants, upon which they will 
change the tenures to fee simple titles, put an end for- 
ever to this perpetual relation of landlord and tenant — 
a relation already so fruitful of anything but peace and 
prosperity to either of the parties. Even if it shall 
become necessary to employ the militar'v power of the 
state to enforce the law, as connected with their pe- 
culiar interests, they should be prepared, upon all occa- 
sions and under all circumstances, to show to the pubUc 
that it is no part of their object to be benefited in their 
pecuniary interests, by the misfortunes or the faults of 
their ill-advised and misguided tenants ; but that they 
are ready to consider, generously, the ability and the 
means for each tenant to pay, and, even if a coerced 
sale of his property must be the only rule of settlement, 
that they are prepared to become liberal purchasers at 
such sales. 

" To the disguised men themselves, and to those less 
worthy than they, who press them forward into the 
danger from which they themselves shrink, I have only 
to say that wrong acts never serve even a good cause ; 
that persistence in crime cannot mitigate the heavy 
weight upon the mind and conscience of the first crime ; 
and that no disguises are perfect enough to protect the 
heart from the eye of Him who sees its thoughts and 
intents. 

*' For the sake of the character of our state, and of 
our people, as well as for the peace, and prosperity, and 
harmony of our society, I earnestly hope that the day 
may not be distant, when I may be called upon to dis- 



212 ANTI-RENT TRIALS. 

charge another and a far more pleasant duty, under a 
provision of the same law under which I now act, by- 
revoking this proclamation. 

" Yet the law must be enforced. Our institutions 
must be preserved. Anarchy and violence must be 
prevented. The lives of our citizens must be protected, 
and murder must be punished. And when that portion 
of our citizens who, now transported by passion and 
led away by singular delusions, are ready to strike 
down the law and its ministers, shall become convinced 
that a different course is alike the part of wisdom and 
of duty, and shall again submit themselves to the laws 
of the state, then, and not before, can I expect to be 
permitted to perform that more pleasing duty." 

The prompt and energetic measures of the local and 
state authorities to enforce the laws, and provide for 
the due administration of justice, were attended with 
the most satisfactory results. The insurrection was 
quelled, order restored, and the courts and officers left 
free to exercise their functions, without hindrance or 
obstruction. The most searching examination was 
made into the circumstances attending the lamentable 
issue of these disturbances ; and a great number of 
persons concerned, either as accessories or principals, 
in the commission of the offence, were arraigned for 
trial. Several of them plead guilty, and were leniently 
dealt with. Others were tried and sentenced to the 
state prison, and two of them were condemned to be 
hung. From the testimony taken on the trials of the 
persons convicted of murder, it appeared that neither 
actually committed the crime, or fired his weapon, 
though present armed and in disguise. Upon the unani- 
mous recommendation of the jurors by whom the two 
men were found guilty. Governor Wright commuted 



PROCLAMATION REVOKED. 213 

their punishment from that of death, to imprisonment 
in the state prison during their natural lives. Among 
the arguments offered on the application for a commu- 
tation of punishment, it was said that these offences 
were of a political character, and therefore should be 
treated with more clemency. In his letter to the 
sheriff announcing his decision, the governor protested 
against entertaining such a doctrine, unless it was de- 
sired to add the crime of treason to the other offences 
which had been committed. " 1 have been urged," he 
said, " to find a ground for commuting these sentences, 
in the consideration that the offences are political, and 
therefore entitled to a different, and more lenient treat- 
ment, than ordinary offences of similar grades. To my 
mind this consideration presents no meliorated aspect 
of this murder. If I could, in my classification, call 
this insurrection, commenced and prosecuted to resist 
the collection of admitted debts, a rebellion, or attempt 
at revolution of the state government, I should find, I 
fear, much more room to add the crime of treason to 
the catalogue already made up, than to discover a 
ground for indulgence in its political character," 

Early in December, it was certified to the governor 
by the principal civil authorities of the county of Dela- 
ware, that, in their belief, the insurrection was effec- 
tually quelled ; and on the 18th of the month he issued 
a second proclamation, revoking the previous one, to 
take effect from and after the 22nd. The firm and de- 
cided stand taken bv the Executive throusfhout all these 
difficulties, called forth expressions of approbation from 
all parties, both in and out of the state. During the 
remainder of his administration, there were occasional 
acts of violence committed, but no disturbances of seri- 
ous magnitude. 



214 ANNUAL MESSAGE. 

At the annual election in 1845, the people approved 
the calHng of a convention, by a most decisive vote. 
Of the members of the Legislature chosen at this time, 
a majority over all parties were in favor of the con- 
vention, and of the doctrines laid down in the veto of 
the governor. The next legislative session commenced 
on the 6th of January, 1846. The message contained 
a repetition of the sentiments in regard to the finances 
of the state, which were so ably presented at the session 
of 1845, and congratulated the members of the Legis- 
lature upon the fact, that much of the business ordi- 
narily coming before them would be referred to the 
convention that was soon to assemble. He stated that 
the violent proceedings of the tenants on the leasehold 
estates appeared to have terminated, and that,' in his 
opinion, it was now proper to afford a redress of their 
grievances, if within the constitutional power of the 
Legislature ; he therefore recommended the prospec- 
tive abolition of distress for rent, and the taxation of 
the reserved rents of landlords. Both suggestions 
were approved by the Legislature, and bills passed du- 
ring the session. The message also contained a rec- 
ommendation in favor of limiting the time for which 
leases of farming lands should be given, to a short pe- 
riod. The Legislature did not pass a law for that pur- 
pose, but an article to that effect was inserted by the 
convention in the revised constitution, and the reser- 
vation of quarter sales and fines for alienation was 
prohibited. The remaining proposition of the Anti- 
Renters, to allow them to dispute the titles of their 
landlords, which, according to well-settled principles 
of law, were acknowledged by taking leases and attor- 
ning to them, was not favorably regarded by the Leg- 
islature or the convention. 



APPORTIONMENT BILL. 215 

. In 1845 a census of the state had been taken ; and 
the duty of making a re-apportionment devolved upon 
the Legislature of 1846. The governor advised that a 
law should be passed at an early day, in order that the 
members of the convention to be chosen in April, 
might be elected under the new apportionment. On 
examining the statistics of the census, it was found, 
that by re-districting the state, the whigs and the friends 
of an immediate prosecution of the public works, would 
probably lose some of the delegates which they could 
elect under the existing law. They then united their 
strength, to defeat the passage of a bill applicable to 
the convention. It was sustained by a majority, how- 
ever, and became a law in time for the election. 

The message of President Polk was likewise referred 
to by Governor Wright. He expressed his sincere 
gratification at the prospect of the re-establishment of 
the independent treasury, under more propitious cir- 
cumstances than those which attended the enactment of 
the law in 1840, and avowed his cordial approbation 
of the views of the President in regard to the modifica- 
tion of the tariff law of 1842. 

There were but few democratic members of the 
Legislature in 1846 opposed to the financial doctrines 
of the governor, but sufficient to thwart the wishes of 
the majority in some instances. The question of se- 
lecting a new state printer was to be decided at this 
session. A majority of the democratic members were 
opposed to the incumbent ; and a bill was introduced 
abolishing the office, in order to defeat the election of 
the candidate nominated in the caucus of the dem- 
ocratic members. The whigs supported the bill, and 
it passed both houses. The measure was unquestion- 
ably a proper one, though the circumstances under 



216 WAR WITH MEXICO. 

which it was adopted might have been somewhat doubt- 
ful. Governor Wright was no factionist, and he cheer- 
fully affixed his signature to the bill. He did not ask 
whether friends or foes voted for a law that was con- 
stitutionally passed, and that the public welfare required, 
but approved what he thought was just and proper for 
the reason that it w^as so. 

A short time previous to the adjournment of the 
Legislature in 1846, the intelligence of the commence- 
ment of hostilities between Mexico and the United 
States reached Albany. Resolutions in favor of sus- 
taining the National Government were passed with 
great unanimity. A requisition was soon after made 
upon the state of New York, for troops to aid in pros- 
ecuting the war. Governor Wright promptly issued 
a proclamation, both eloquent in its language, and 
patriotic in its sentiments, calling for volunteers to en- 
rol themselves without delay ; and while he remained 
in office, he afforded every facility in his power to the 
authorities of the Union in obtainino- the men and 
means which they required. 

The dissensions in the democratic party continued 
to exist during the session of 1846 ; but as one faction 
was largely in the majority, they did not appear of so 
much moment. Violent personal altercations took 
place in both Houses, that served to continue the im- 
bittered feelings which had sprung up, and the pro- 
ceedings of the legislative caucus held prior to the ad- 
journment were not unanimously approved. A few 
of the members signed another address to their con- 
stituents, differing from that adopted by the majority, 
in its opposition to the course pursued by Governoi 
Wright in regard to the completion of the public 
w^orks. Other questions w^ere naturally connected with 



NEW TARIFF LAW. 217 

the main cause of division in the democratic party, and 
in the then state of feeUng, the appointments to office 
attracted greater attention than they otherwise would 
have done. The governor was not ungrateful to those 
friends who had aided him in sustaining the principles 
upon which he placed so much value ; neither was the 
executive patronage bestowed upon them to the entire 
exclusion of others. Where county conventions of 
the party were held, he acted in accordance with their 
recommendations ; and in other cases, he endeavored 
to have the local oppointments conform to the wishes 
of the majority. To satisfy all the applicants was an 
impossibility ; and if he failed in any case to under- 
stand the public sentiment aright, the error was unin- 
tentional. A very great number of officers appointed 
by Governor Bouck were re-nominated by him ; and 
this, indeed, was his invariable rule, except where the 
majority of the democratic party in the particular 
locality appeared to be opposed. 

At the session of Congress which ended in the sum- 
mer of 1846, a new tariff act was passed, materially 
changing the provisions of the law of 1S12. It was 
not entirely conformable to the wishes of Mr. Wright, 
but the actual effect and operation of the law differed 
but slightly from that which he would have favored. 
The principle of protection in the restricted sense 
wdiich he advocated was not abandoned, and the mo- 
nopoly features of former enactments were removed. 

The constitutional convention assembled in June. 
A majority of the members were democrats ; but party 
questions were not allowed, except very rarely, to in- 
terfere with the deliberations of that body. Its pro- 
ceedings were harmonious, and the constitution, as 
amended, adopted by a very large vote. The conven- 

10 



218 CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION. 

tion decided that it was inexpedient to separate the 
various articles, but submitted it as a whole. One of 
the most gratifying results of the convention, to Mr. 
Wright, was the incorporation into the constitution of 
those financial doctrines for which he had been contend- 
ing ever since he first took his seat in the New York 
Senate. All the essential principles of the act of 1842, 
and of " the people's resolution," were made a part of 
the fundamental law of the state. The Legislature 
was forbidden to create a debt exceeding, at any time, 
one miUion of dollars in amount, and prohibited from 
loaning the pubhc credit to individual associations or 
corporations. The payment of the state debt was 
secured out of the revenues annually accruing, and the 
unfinished works placed in their appropriate position 
of dependence upon the surplus remaining after supply- 
ing the means of discharging the liabilities already in- 
curred. The constitution also provided that no special 
act of incorporation should be passed ; thus preventing 
for the future such legislation as was witnessed in 1835 
and 1836. 

During the summer of 1846, the two sections of the 
democratic party co-operated together more harmoni- 
ously than they had done, and it was thought that the 
divisions would soon be healed. This might have been 
the case, if personal considerations, and private disap- 
pointments, had not continued to operate upon the minds 
of prominent members of both factions. The influence 
of the national administration, too, was exerted to se- 
cure the election of members of Congress in the state 
of New York, who were in favor of supporting its 
measures in relation to the war with Mexico, irrespec- 
tive of the slavery question connected with the subject. 
That section of the party with whose views Mr. Wright 



RENOMINATED FOR GOVERNOR. 219 

sympathized, though he never approved the violent and 
indiscreet denunciations of the heated partisans among 
them, any more than he participated in the bitter and 
vindictive manner of the opposing faction, had declared 
their hostility to any extension of the slave territory; 
and therefore, the course pursued by the officers of the 
National Government, and those enjoying its patronage, 
produced new differences, and new collisions, which 
prevented the restoration of good feeling or harmony. 
The democratic state convention was held in October. 
Governor Wrisrht had been urged to decline a re-nomi- 
nation ; but this would only have resulted in further 
divisions, and he did not attempt to influence the pro- 
ceedings of the convention, either oneway or the other. 
If the delegates desired him again to become a candi- 
date, he was disposed to act in accordance with their 
wishes. He had not sought the office, but it rested 
with his party friends to say whether he should remain 
in it, since his original acceptance had been given in 
pursuance of their emphatic request. Those democratic 
journals in the state friendly to the unfinished canals, 
and disposed to advance the projects of the national 
administration, advised the selection of a new man as 
a candidate for governor. This movement met with 
very little favor, and but few scattering votes were 
given in the convention. Mr. Wright received one 
hundred and twelve votes out of one hundred and 
twenty-eight, on the informal ballot. His nomination 
was then made unanimous, except that a single dele- 
gate voted against the motion. 



CHAPTER IX. 

1846. — Opposition to the New Constitution— Anti-Renters— Integrity 
and Independence of Governor Wright— The November Election — 
The Constitution Adopted— Causes of Mr. Wright's Defeat— His 
Opinions— Adverse Influences at Washington— The National Adminis- 
tration— The Wilmot Proviso— New York Resolutions— The Missouri 
Compromise— Acquisition of New Territory and Extension of Slavery 
—Position of Mr. Wright— Retires to Private Life— Contented Dis- 
position—His Name suggested for the Presidency — Letter— River and 
Harbor Bill— Veto of the President — The Chicago Convention— Let- 
ter of Mr. Wright— Popularity in the Northern States— Political Pros- 
pects—Mode of Life — Devotes his Time to his Farm— Agricultural 
Address— General Health- Sudden Illness— His Death— Letter of 
his Physician— Effect on the Public Mind— Testimonials of Respect 

Meeting at Ogdensburgh— Tribute of Mr. Clay — The Merchants in 

New York — The Pilots— Proceedings of the State Legislature— Re- 
marks of Mr. Spencer— The State Fair— FeeUng throughout the 
Union — Personal Appearance and Habits — Character as a Citizen 
and a Friend— Style of Oratory— Mental Qualities— Career as a 
Statesman — His Memory. — 1847. 

The decision of the state convention upon the finan- 
cial questions, out of which had arisen the dissensions 
in the democratic party, was not entirely satisfactory 
to the friends of the public works that remained unfin- 
ished. The mode pointed out in the constitution for 
appropriating a portion of the surplus revenues to their 
completion appeared slow and tedious. Those persons, 
in particular, whose pecuniary interests were directly 
affected by the suspension of operations, did not con- 
ceal their objections to the article which had been 
adopted, and their intention to vote against the ratifica- 



OBJECTIONS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 221 

tion. They were not pleased with the small sum which, 
in the most favorable condition of the finances, would 
probably be set apart for the prosecution of the works, 
nor with the prohibition against creating a new debt 
for other objects of the same character. It was sug- 
gested soon after the convention adjourned, that an 
amendment might be proposed to render these restric- 
tions less severe, in case a majority of the people ap- 
proved the constitution. This announcement con- 
tented the greater number of those who desired to see 
the canals speedily finished ; but the contractors, and 
others bearing a similar relation to the works, were 
unwilling to vote in its favor, even with this prospect 
before them. Experience had shown, that a minority, 
though few in numbers, might prevent the adoption of 
an amendment ; and notwithstanding the constitution 
was modified in that respect, they saw that it would 
still occupy two or three years to perfect an alteration, 
where there was any decided opposition manifested. 

The changes in the judiciary system made by the 
amended constitution, were also unpopular in some 
sections of the state. The election of judges, and of 
so many other officers who had formerly been selected 
by the appointing povv'er, by the people themselves, 
through the ballot boxes, was likewise a new feature 
that did not meet the approbation of many who felt at- 
tached to the old manner of appointment, and were not 
disposed to regard such innovations with much favor. 
These objections, however, were principally confined to 
the eastern part of the state ; but in the middle and 
western counties the main difficulty was the financial 
article. 

During the session of the Legislature in 1846, efforts 
were made to induce the governor to pardon the indi- 



222 HIS OFFICIAL INTEGRITY. 

viduals concerned in the disturbances in the counties 
of Cokimbia and Delaware, who had been sentenced 
to the state prison ; but he dechned any further inter- 
ference, at that time, on their behalf, alleging as his 
reason for the refusal, that a proper regard for the dig- 
nity of the law, the character of the state, and the 
security of its citizens, seemed to him to require that 
they should be kept in confinement, at least until a 
more healthy tone of sentiment prevailed in the districts 
where the difficulties had existed. These applications 
were renewed by the friends of the prisoners, at vari- 
ous intervals, in the course of the summer, and just 
before the fall election they were pressed with unusual 
warmth. A large number of the Anti- Renters origi- 
nally belonged to the democratic party, and they were 
very anxious that Governor Wright should place him- 
self in such a position as to obtain the votes of themselves 
and of all who thought with them. Although his official 
acts had appeared harsh and severe, they were forced 
to admire the unbending integrity and stern indepen- 
dence which he had displayed. His recommendations 
to the Legislature, and the prompt action that followed 
them, had softened, to a great extent, the angry feelings 
which had occasioned the outbreak, and they were by 
no means inchned to oppose his re-election. But the 
release of the prisoners was the object at which they 
aimed, and that would and must be the consideration 
for their votes. When they found that he would not 
yield to their petitions, they attempted to draw from 
him a promise, or a pledge, that at some future time 
their request would be granted. His answer was wor- 
thy of the man — worthy of the governor. He would 
give no promises, no pledges, save that his duty should 
be discharged to the best of his ability. Though unlike 



I 



A 



NOVEMBER ELECTION. 223 

the proud and haughty Roman, who could not sympa- 
thize with the people, and would have betrayed them to 
their foes — though unlike Coriolanus in all besides, yet, 
w^ith him, he despised the vile means which dema- 
gogues employed to win the public favor. If he re- 
mained in office, none should complain that the execu- 
tive clemencv was withheld when it might be properly 
bestowed ; but he would not sully his reputation with 
a blot that no honor or dignity could ever have effaced. 

When the Anti-Rent convention was held, the selec- 
tion of Governor Wright, as their candidate for gover- 
nor, was urged by many of his over-zealous friends ; 
but the majority required something more tangible 
than mere expectations ; they knew his character, and 
they were fearful that they might look to him in vain. 
The whig delegates were more positive in their pledges 
for the nominee of the whig convention, and the Anti- 
Renters decided to support him at the election, together 
with the candidate for lieutenant-governor nominated 
by the democratic party. 

At the November election in 1846, there were about 
four hundred thousand votes cast for the office of gov- 
ernor. In addition to the nominations of the two great 
parties, both the Abolitionists and the Native Americans 
had separate tickets, each of which received a consid- 
erable number of votes. The majority in favor of the 
amended constitution, was nearly one hundred and 
thirty thousand. John Young, the whig candidate for 
governor, who was also supported by the Anti-Renters, 
was elected over Mr. Wright, by upwards of eleven 
thousand majority. 

It is as unpleasant a task, as it is ungracious, to attempt 
to explain away a political overthrow. If the people 
will not vote lor a candidate in sufficient numbers to 



224 THE DEMOCRATIC VOTE. 

elect him, he is sure to be defeated. In ordinary cases, 
that is explanation enough ; but there are reasons of 
more than usual importance, why the causes which 
prevented the success of Mr. Wright should be made 
linown. It was claimed by his friends, and, perhaps, 
truly claimed, that notwithstanding his defeat, there 
was not a more popular man in the state. One thing 
is certain : there was not another member of the party 
to which he belonged, w^ho could have obtained any- 
thing like the vote he received ; and there were very 
few, if there was one, who would not have been openly 
opposed at the polls, by great numbers of those profess- 
ing to entertain the same political sentiments. 

Although Mr. Young was elected by the Anti-Rent 
vote, and would hav^e been defeated if the democrats 
belonging to that faction had supported Mr. Wright, 
the latter could have succeeded even aG:ainst such odds, 
had he been sustained by the strength of his party, as 
usually manifested at such an election. The returns 
plainly indicate, that in those sections of the state 
where the feeling in regard to the completion of the 
unfinished canals, was more decided in its character, he 
failed to receive a cordial or united support. In some 
counties out of the Anti-Rent districts, the fallin^f off in 
the democratic votes was out of all proportion with that 
in other counties, while the whig candidate received a 
higher number than was given to Mr. Fillmore in 1844. 
A great many, doubtless, who did not concur in the 
opinions of Mr. Wright upon questions of state policy, 
out of regard for his high name and eminent abilities, 
unhesitatingly gave him their suffrages. But those 
who were so much dissatisfied with the constitution, in 
consequence of the financial article contained in it, as 
to vote against its ratification, were not favorable to 



^ 



CAUSES OF THE DEFEAT. 225 

his re-election. Other causes may have been alleged 
for their dissatisfaction with the state ticket ; but it is 
quite evident, that if Mr. Wright had not signed the 
convention bill, and not vetoed the appropriation of 
the surplus, he would not have asked for their votes in 
vain. They were willing to forgive his opposition to 
the construction of the lateral canals ; his recommen- 
dation of a state tax in 1832 ; and his firm and un- 
shrinking course in maintaining the letter and the spirit 
of the stop and tax law. They might even have over- 
looked his determination not to countenance an increase 
of the state debt, for any purpose whatsoever, except an 
extraordinary emergency should arise ; but his appro- 
bation of the convention bill was an unpardonable 
offence. So long as the statute book alone contained 
the record which they desired occasionally to modify, 
they might have been satisfied to see him remain in the 
office of governor ; and it is not unlikely that they 
would have given him their votes. But Mr. Wright 
had held the power in his hands ; it had rested with 
him to say whether there should be a convention ; he 
had decided in favor of it, because the- people desired 
him to do so ; and the result had been the adoption of 
the financial article. This feature in the constitution 
i was opposed to their interests, and how could they be 
expected to sustain that man, who, more than all others, 
had advocated and defended the principles therein im- 
bodied, and had been such a prominent instrument in 
establishing it so firmly that it could not be easily 
changed ? Some might have done it, who looked to 
the future rather than to the present ; who admired 
him for his firmness and independence, and honored 
him for that he would not surrender his convictions of 

10* 



22G HIS ANTICIPATIOxNS. 

the right for the sake of a transient popularity — ^but 
they most certainly did not do this. 

Local difficulties and dissensions also reduced Mr. 
Wright's vote to some extent. The regular nomina- 
tions in several counties were not regarded by either 
of the factions. Long-cherished animosities, and con- 
tinued strife and contention, had produced their legiti- 
mate fruits. Ostensibly, there was no division in the 
party ; but, in fact, there was nothing that could be 
called unity or harmony. The influence of the na- 
tional administration was not exerted in behalf of Mr. 
Wright ; and this Vv^as another cause of his defeat. 
The new constitution of the state divested him of all 
patronage, and when the General Government might 
have essentially aided him, it v/as busied in attempting 
to secure members of Congress who were supposed to 
be free from his control. 

But these considerations may be said to have been 
of little moment. Mr. Wright was defeated. An im- 
portant question in regard to the finances of the state, 
had been agitated for more than twenty years ; after 
this long struggle, he, and those who acted with him, 
had succeeded in incorporating their views into the 
constitution ; it was natural for divisions to spring up, 
and that he should be one of the first to feel them. It 
was what he had long anticipated. When he left the 
Senate of the United States, he knew the time for 
determining the question, which had been adjourned 
when he left the office of comptroller, would soon come. 
He was prepared to meet it. His principles had under- 
gone no change. They were firm and irrevocable ; and 
successful too, though he who upheld them was defeated, 
at the same election which witnessed their ratification. 

Mr. Wright had long entertained the wish to be re- 



REGRET FOR HIS FRIENDS. 227 

lieved from the cares and responsibilities of office, and 
no personal consideration caused him to regret his 
defeat. In a letter written to a friend within a few 
months after the election, he referred to the circum- 
stances under which his immediate connection with 
public aflairs had terminated, in a tone very far re- 
moved from bitterness or complaint. " You do me but 
justice," says the letter, " in assuming that the regret 
I have felt, and yet feel, at my political defeat, last fall, 
is much more on account of my friends — those who 
have been friends through good and through evil report, 
and who have claims upon me which I never could, in 
any situation, have discharged, than on my own account. 
Indeed, I had long been sensible that it was time for 
me to retire, and felt a strong presentiment that, if I did 
not do it voluntarily, I should find myself compelled to 
do it without mv consent, before much more time could 
elapse. I was so perfectly convinced, when I consented 
to be governor, that the termination would be just when 
and as it has been, that I can scarcely say I have been 
disappointed. Still, I am now perfectly satisfied that it 
was my duty to yield upon that occasion, and that my 
friends did right to urge me to it. Had it not been 
done, and our state had been lost in 1844, the failure 
of our party, and our measures and principles in the 
nation, would have been imputed to us, and to me 
prominently. That would have placed us in a worse 
position than we are now in, and the fault would have 
been said to be, and would have been believed to be, 
ours ; while now v/e are blameless, and have only 
shared the fate too often met by honest men, that of a 
defeat in an attempt to carry out and establish honest 
principles. Still, there has been something very re- 
markable in the passage of events. The Independent 



228 INFLUENCES AT WASHINGTON. 

Treasury has been established and is in operation. We 
have succeeded in estabUshing the most sound and safe 
financial principles in our new constitution, and yet the 
party, which alone as a party was favorable to these 
reforms, was beaten at the very election which adopted 
them. All this shows that our principles possess a 
strength with our people which our men do not." 

In the same letter, he refers more particularly to the 
pleasure he had experienced in returning to private life- 
''Personally," says he, "I am content as a man can 
be, and not a day passes that I do not find cause for joy, 
that I am out of the way and clear from the cares and 
responsibilities of these ever-perplexing public affairs. 
I have no ambitions to gratify, and no griefs to indulge, 
and I take a pleasure I cannot express in feeling free to 
express my opinions as a private citizen." 

The adverse influences at Washington which had 
contributed to Mr. Wright's defeat, and his position 
with respect to the national administration, were made 
frequent subjects of comment after the election, and 
during the winter of 1847. The question as to the 
aimexation of Texas, was disposed of; but the war 
with Mexico had introduced a new topic for politica) 
discussions. Similar questions had often been brought 
forward, since the original formation of the confederacy, 
and had always given rise to protracted debates in 
Congress. At the time of the commencement of hos- 
tilities with the Mexican republic, it was supposed that 
the war would be of short duration, and the terms upon 
which a peace should be negotiated began to be con- 
sidered. It was generally understood that the large 
amount of claims held by citizens of the United States 
against that Government, and of those in prospective 
which would be urged on the suspension of difRculties, 



THE WILMOT PROVISO. 229 

as an indemnity for expenses, could not be satisfied 
without yielding up a portion of her territory beyond 
the original limits of Texas. Slavery did not exist in 
the northern provinces of Mexico, and it was urged by 
those members of Congress who were opposed to the 
extension of that institution, that measures should be 
taken to prohibit its introduction into any territory 
that might be acquired. Near the close of the session 
of Congress, ending in the summer of 1846, President 
Polk requested that an appropriation of two (afterwards 
three) millions of dollars should be made, to be em- 
ployed by him in concluding a peace with Mexico, if an 
opportunity were presented during the recess. A bill 
for that purpose was introduced into the House of Rep- 
resentatives ; and while the subject was under discus- 
sion, Mr. Wilmot, a democratic member from Pennsyl- 
vania, moved that a clause be added to the bill, in the 
following terms : — 

*' Provided, That there shall be neither slavery nor 
involuntary servitude in any territory on the continent 
of America which shall hereafter be acquired by, or 
annexed to the United States, by virtue of this appro- 
priation, or in any other manner whatsoever, except for 
crimes, whereof the party shall have been duly con- 
victed. Provided always, That any person escaping 
into that territory, from whom labor or service is law- 
fully claimed in any one of the United States, such 
person may be lawfully reclaimed and carried out of - 

such territory to the person claiming his or her ser- 

J) 
vice. 

The object of proposing this amendment, now known 
as '' The Wilmot Proviso," was to prohibit the intro- 
duction of slavery into that portion of Mexico which 
might be surrendered to the United States, so long as 



230 LOST IN THE SENATE. 

the territorial character was preserved ; and when 
states were formed and admitted into the Union, the 
matter would come under their control. The proviso 
was sustained by a majority in the House of Represen- 
tatives — the members from New York unanimously 
voting in its favor — but it was stricken out in the Senate, 
and the bill failed to become a law. 

The views of Mr. Wright upon this question were 
not then made known, though it was generally under- 
stood that he concurred in the vote given by the mem- 
bers of Congress from his own state. The President, 
and a majority of the cabinet, were favorable to the 
slaveholding interest ; and as there were several candi- 
dates for the succession to the presidency among the 
latter, they were not reluctant to engage in an attempt 
to weaken his influence and popularity in New York, 
and in the Union at large. It was said, that he had 
placed himself in opposition to the administration, which 
had taken a stand against the proviso, and would coun- 
tenance no proposition of that character, unless it con- 
templated the extension of the Missouri compromise 
line to such new territory as might be acquired from 
Mexico; and, in the winter of 1847, circumstances 
transpired which, it was alleged, fully substantiated the 
charge that had been made. At the second session of 
the twenty-ninth Congress, Preston King, the represen- 
tative from the congressional district in which Mr. 
Wright resided, and his warm personal and political 
friend, became the mover of the Wilmot Proviso, as an 
amendment to the appropriation bill, by which the sum 
asked for in 1846 was placed at the disposal of the 
President. All the members from New York, except 
three of the democrats, some or all of whom had op- 
posed the re-nomination of Governor Wright, supported 



NEW YORK RESOLUTIONS. 231 

Mr. King's proposition. While the subject was still 
pending in Congress, the following resolutions of in. 
struction were adopted in the New York Legislature, 
by the votes of the whig members and of those who 
occupied the same ground with Mr. Wright in regard 
to state politics : — 

" Resolved, That if any territory is hereafter ac- 
quired by the United States, or annexed thereto, the 
act by which such territory is acquired or annexed, 
whatever such act may be, should contain an unalter- 
able, fundamental article or provision, whereby slavery 
or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for 
crime, shall be forever excluded from the territory ac- 
quired or annexed. 

" Resolved, That the senators in Congress from this 
state be instructed, and that the representatives in Con- 
gress from this state be requested, to use their best 
efforts to carry into effect the views expressed in the 
foregoing resolutions." 

Mr. Wright was still in Albany at the time these res- 
olutions were before the Legislature, and did not con- 
ceal his approbation of the sentiments expressed in 
them. From this fact, and from the known friendly 
relations existing between himself and Mr. King, it was 
inferred that he was in favor of the Wilmot Proviso. 
Before noticing his position, as subsequently defined 
by himself, it will not be out of place to refer to a few 
historical facts connected, in the public mind, with this 
question, though only indirectly affecting it. 

The principle involved in the Wilmot Proviso was 
very different from any of a similar nature which had 
been previously discussed, in or out of Congress. In 
1784, Thomas Jefferson, as chairman of a committee, 
a majority of whom were from slaveholding states re- 



232 ORDINANCE OF THE OLD CONGRESS. 

ported a plan in the old Congress of the Confederation, 
for the government of the " Western Territory," now 
composing the states of Ohio, Indiana, IlUnois, Michigan, 
Iowa, and Wisconsin. This plan embraced the condi- 
tion — that after the year 1800, there should be neither 
slavery, nor involuntary servitude, in any of the states 
to be formed out of such territory, otherwise than in 
punishment of crimes. The ordinance containing this 
proviso did not receive a vote of two-thirds, and there- 
fore was not adopted. But in 1787 an ordinance was 
passed, in relation to the North-western territory, which 
contained an article absolutely prohibiting slavery 
therein.* Of this article the Wilmot Proviso is al- 
most a literal transcript. In 1789, the first Congress 
under the federal constitution re-enacted the ordinance 
of 1787. Mr. Madison was among its most prominent 
supporters, and Washington approved and signed it. 
This measure was a concession on the part of the 
slaveholding interest. The free states yielded nothing 
-because there was nought to yield. Under the laws 
then in existence, the territory was slaveholding terri- 
tory. Virginia, a slave state, had the largest and the 
strongest claim in it. The slave states made a volun- 
tary surrender to the free states, and agreed that slavery 
should not continue or be extended north of the Ohio 
River, in a portion of territory belonging to the Union 
previous to and at the time of the adoption of the con- 
stitution. 

Since the organization of the Federal Government, 
Louisiana and Florida have been acquired by purchase, 
and Texas, originally forming a part of the former, has 
been restored, after having once been ceded to Spain. 
Slavery existed in all these provinces, at the time of 

* Article 6. 



THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE. 233 

their acquisition or annexation. Out of the Louisiana 
purchase three states have been formed — Louisiana, 
Arkansas, and Missouri. Louisiana was admitted im- 
mediately after the purchase. Missouri apphed for 
admission in 1819, and then the question arose which 
was settled by what has been called the Missouri com- 
promise. Those who desired to make Missouri a free 
state, insisted that if it had formed part of the Union at 
the time the ordinance of 1787 was passed, it would 
have been included wdthin the North-west territory ; 
and not only did they urge that argument, but they 
demanded that slavery should be prohibited in all new 
states, not comprised within the original boundaries of 
the United States, " as a condition of their admission 
into the Union." On the other hand it was contended, 
that the territory was slave territory at the time of the 
purchase, and that the only real point in dispute had 
been settled by the admission of Louisiana. The prin- 
ciple then maintained by the members of Congress 
from the northern states went far beyond* that of the 
VVilmot Proviso ; but public opinion in that section of 
the Union was strong and decided in its opposition to 
the admission of Missouri, if slavery was not prohibited. 
In 1820, a resolution was unanimously passed in the 
New York Legislature, of which Martin Van Buren, 
Roger Skinner, Samuel Young, and other distinguished 
men, were at that time members, instructing their 
senators and representatives to oppose the admission 
of any state, not contained in the original boundaries 
of the confederacy, without making the prohibition " an 
indispensable condition." After a long and ardent 
contest, the slave states again yielded up a portion of 
their territory, and on the 6th of March, 1820, an act 
was passed authorizing the admission of Missouri, but 



234 THE PRINCIPLE INVOLVED. 

forever prohibiting " slavery or involuntary servitude'* 
in the remaining part of the Louisiana purchase lying 
north of 36 degrees, 30 minutes, north latitude. 

Florida was slave territory at the time of its acquisi- 
tion, and v\dien it applied for admission, no attempt was 
made to revive the question which had been disposed 
of in the case of Louisiana. When the project for the 
annexation of Texas came before Congress, there was 
a reason for extending the Missouri compromise line 
to her territory, because it had formed a part of the 
original Louisiana purchase. No one then thought of 
extending the compromise to free territory. The South 
did not ask it — and the North would never have con- 
sented. 

The subject of contention in the settlement of all 
these questions — in the passage of the ordinance of 
1787 ; the Louisiana and Florida purchases ; the ad- 
mission of Missouri ; and the annexation of Texas — 
where any contention took place, was either in regard 
to the acquisition of slave territory, or to the division 
of slave territory between the free and slave states. 
The Wilmot Proviso presented a question differing as 
widely from any before agitated as one pole is separated 
from the other. It had reference solely to the acquisi- 
tion of free territory, and to the extension of slavery 
where it was unknown ; and it is for this reason, that 
no compromise in the adoption of the federal constitu- 
tion, no compromise which has since been made, has any 
legitimate connection with it. When the Proviso was 
first introduced, it was urged that the soil and climate 
of New Mexico and California, portions of whose ter- 
ritory, if any, were to be acquired, were not congenial 
to the existence of slavery, and therefore the prohibi 
tion was unnecessary, and calculated but to provoke 



EXTENSION OF SLAVERY. 235 

bad feeling and produce divisions and dissensions. But 
this same argument was worn threadbare at the time 
of the Louisiana purchase. It was then said, that 
slavery would never extend to the northern portions 
of that territory ; that there were a few slaves in the 
settlements along the Mississippi, but it w^as idle to 
think of employing them in the interior; and that it 
would be very unwise to legislate at all upon the sub- 
ject. What was the result ? — Besides Louisiana proper, 
*' and Texas, since restored, two slave states, Arkansas 
and Missouri, were formed ; slavery extended as far 
north as the 41st degree of latitude, and was checked 
only by the prohibition in the act of 1820. The friends 
of the Wilmot Proviso thought there was no time like 
the present to decide so important a question; and that 
the evil they apprehended should be guarded against 
at the time of the acquisition of any new territory. In 
their view, the principle was of too much value to be 
trifled with — it was not whether slavery should be pro- 
tected where it had an existence, as was done by the 
federal constitution — not whether slave territory should 
be annexed to the Union — not whether an equitable 
division should be made of such territory between the 
free and the slave states — but whether the American 
Government should become the propagandist of slavery, 

I and seek to implant it upon free soil. 
It was in this light Mr. Wright regarded it ; and 
hence it was, that he would have felt bound to oppose 
the administration of Mr. Polk, or any other adminis- 
tration, if it sought to acquire territory for the extension 
of slavery. His sentiments were freely expressed to 
his friends, though he endeavored to avoid making 
them topics of discussion in the public prints. On the 
15th of April 1847, he wrote to a gentleman in the 



236 LETTER OF MR. WRIGHT. 

city of New York,* in reply to a letter making in- 
quiries as to his opinions, in order to correct what were 
supposed to be misrepresentations of them, and stated, 
in definite terms, his position with respect to the prin- 
ciple of the Wihiiot Proviso. He said : — 

" If the question had been propounded to me, at any 
period of my public life — ' Shall the arms of the Union 
be employed to conquer, or the money of the Union be 
used to purchase territory, now constitutionally free, 
for the purpose of planting slavery upon it' — I should 
have answered, IX'o ! And this answer to this question 
is the Wilmot Proviso, as I understand it. I am sur- 
prised that any one should suppose me capable of en- 
tertaining any other opinion, or giving any other an- 
swer, as to such a proposition." 

The letter of Mr. Wright in which this passage 
occurs, was not intended at the time for publication ; 
but the same letter contained a request, that it should 
be distinctly announced in the columns of a democratic 
paper in New York, '" that he v\-as opposed in principle 
to the conquest, or purchase of territory, now free, for 
the purpose of incorporating slavery upon it ; that he 
thought it an appropriate time to declare that principle, 
w^hen an appropriation was asked to purchase the terri- 
tory ; and that such a declaration, made at such a time, 
was not in opposition to the administration, unless it 
was avowed that the administration wished to acquire 
the territory for the extension of slavery, in which case 
he would think the administration wrong and the dec- 
laration right." 

Mr. Wright did regret that Mr. King became the 
mover of the Proviso, because it was supposed to 
have been done after a consultation with him, though 

* Hon. J. H. Titus. 



COMPROMISES OF THE CONSTITUTION. 237 

in fact he was entirely ignorant of that gentleman's 
intentions ; but at no time did he disapprove of his 
course, or entertain any other sentiment except that 
of cordial concurrence in the principle of the Wilmot 
Proviso. The preservation of the federal constitution 
was as dear — the rights for which his fathers contended, 
by the side of their southern brethren, at Saratoga and 
Monmouth, at Camden and Yorktown, were as sacred 
to him — as if he himself had perilled his life in their 
defence. On all public occasions, whether in the Sen- 
ate or before the people, the influence of his example 
and advice was in favor of the sacred compromises 
of 1787. At Watertown, with reference to this same 
question of slavery, he said : " Yet the institution 
exists among us. It existed in our state when the 
federal constitution was formed. The convention of 
'87 — the wisest body of men, unquestionably, that ever 
has assembled for civil purposes within the history of 
the world — made the compromises which enabled them 
to form the Union. Without it the Union never would 
have existed. What were they ? — To leave the exist- 
ence, the measure and management of slavery, exclu- 
sively to each state for itself We, most wisely and 
gradually abolished it with us. — Other states, whether 
from choice or compulsion it does not become me to 
say, have not advanced so rapidly. But there is not 
one provision in that sacred instrument, which I would 
less willingly disturb. It is to me as sacred as any of 
the others — and whilst I live, so far as my voice and 
action is concerned, the guardianship and disposition 
of it shall be left to those among whom it exists, with- 
out interference from me." 

trom this declaration Mr. Wright never departed. 
He was always ready to do everything in his power to 



238 RETIREMENT TO PRIVATE LIFE. 

secure that protection to the slaveholding interest which 
was guaranteed by the constitution ; but he did not 
approve of acquiring new territory to extend the insti- 
tution where it had no existence. He was wilhng, at 
any time, to appropriate the means belonging to the 
General Government, for the purpose of sustaining the 
national honor and dignity and character ; but he did 
not desire that the blood of the American soldier should 
fertilize a foreign soil, that it might be cultivated by 
the slave. He w^as willing, in a just and righteous 
cause, that the Stars and Stripes should be planted on 
the highest peak of the Cordilleras, if they could wave 
in the sunlight and the breeze, unsullied and spotless, 
as the signal of freedom, but never to be borne there as 
the herald of oppression. 

Mr. Wright's term of office as governor of the state 
of New York, expired on the last day of December 
1846, and in the month of Februarv folio wing he re- 

^ m/ CD 

turned to his residence at Canton. His retirement to 
private life was to him, personally, a source of great 
gratification. In one of his letters wTitten in April, he 
said that he could " scarcely yet realize the sensation,'* 
and that he had not known before " what a relief it 
would be to find himself again a free man." There 
are few men who, in his situation, would have been so 
easily contented to lay aside their official honors, and, 
like Cincinnatus, return again to the noblest of all pro- 
fessions — that of the tillers of the soil. To his happy 
and cheerful disposition it was no sacrifice — but a pure 
and welcome joy. Indeed, his only regret was, that he 
was compelled to remain at home, and prevented from 
visiting his friends as he wished to do, for fear lest he 
might be charged with seeking some other and higher 
honor. " If I were to attempt to tell you," he said, in 



CHEERFUL AND CONTENTED DISPOSITION. 239 

a letter written to a friend in Maine, excusing himself 
and Mrs. Wright from paying an anticipated visit, 
"how happy we make om'selves at om' retired home, 
I fear you would scarcely be able to credit me. I even 
yet realize every day, and every hour, the relief from 
public cares and perplexities and responsibilities ; and 
if any thought about temporal affairs could make me 
more uneasy than another, it would be the serious 
thought that I was again to take upon myself, in any 
capacity, that ever pressing load. I am not, however, 
troubled with any such thought, and am only occasion- 
ally a little vexed that I am constantly suspected of 
cherishing further vain and unreasonable ambitions. 

" I cannot make my visit to you this year. I have 
become a farmer in earnest, though upon a very hum- 
ble scale, and I find little leisure for recreation. I 
labor steadily, and enjoy my food and sleep as no poli- 
tician can. My land is new and hard to work, so that 
I have not the pleasure of show and appearance, but 
a call for the more v/ork. Even if mv business would 
permit, I should not dare to travel this year, as I should 
be suspected of doing it for sinister purposes, which 
would destroy to me all the pleasures of journeying, 
and cause me to be received and treated as a moving 
beggar, not for bread, which might be excused, but for 
favors I do not ask. After this vear I shall be relieved 
from this embarrassment ; and then I hope the time 
mav come when I can visit vour state, and yourself 
and family, and have the pleasure of fishing with you 
for cod, without the suspicion of being a fisher of 
men." 

The playful tone of this letter indicates anything 
but the existence of disappointed ambition. The heart 
of the writer was free as the air he breathed. A load 



240 LETTER ON THE PRESIDENCY. 

of care and responsibility ha,d been removed from his 
shoulders. For nearly a quarter of a century — all the 
best part of his life — he had been in the service of the 
state or of the nation. He had barely commenced the 
practice of his profession when he was elected to the 
state Senate, and from that time, until within a few 
months previous, he had continued in office. He was 
frequently mentioned in connection with the presi- 
dency in the summer of 1847, and a num.ber of demo- 
cratic papers in the northern states inserted his name 
in their columns, as their candidate for the nomination. 
It has been said, that that high office should " neither 
be sought, nor refused." Mr. Wright did not seek it, 
though he might not have refused had it been tendered 
to him. There was no false delicacy in his reluctance 
to be considered as an aspirant for the office. He saw 
that if he w^as nominated, his opinions on the Wilmot 
Proviso would become the subject of comment, and 
the presidential contest might assume a sectional rather 
than a party character. He was desirous that this 
should be avoided, and expressed his feelings wdth en- 
tire frankness. In a letter dated in July, he said : — 

" I wish vou to believe me, when I tell vou that I 
write upon this subject, (the presidency,) wholly free 
from personal embarrassment. I never have been vain 
enough to aspire to this hisrh office, and if I had desired 
it ever so strongly, I am not so blind as not to see that 
the present period presents no opportunity for a candi- 
date such as I should be. I tell you the truth, hov/ever, 
when I say, elevated as it is, and is justly considered, 
I do not wdsh the office. 

"My acquaintance with it has long since satisfied 
me, that no man should aspire to it who has not a 
stronger hold upon the feeling of the country than I 






CHICAGO CONVENTION. 241 

have ; and that if obtained, it will give to such a man 
neither pleasure nor honor. I am not a candidate for 
the office, and have no feeling about who shall be can- 
didates, beyond my deep feeling for the country and 
its institutions, and for the democratic party and its 
principles, upon the success of which I think the coun- 
try and our institutions must rely for prosperity and 
success." 

During the session of Congress ending in August 
1846, the river and harbor bill, making appropriations 
exceeding thirteen hundred thousand dollars in amount, 
passed both Houses, but was vetoed by the President, 
upon the ground that a number of the works specified 
were not pi'oper objects of expenditure on the part of 
the General Government, and also, that the money was 
needed to carry on the war with Mexico. The veto 
excited astonishment, and was quite unpopular in the 
northern states, and particularly in the vicinity of the 
western lakes and rivers, upon which a considerable 
share of the appropriation was proposed to have been 
expended. The subject was of vast importance to the 
inhabitants of that section of the Union, and it was 
suggested that a convention of the friends of the im- 
provements should be held, to deliberate upon the 
proper measures to be taken to obtain the desired as- 
sistance from the national authorities. The conv^en- 
tion met at Chicago, on the 5th of July, 1817. The 
attendance was large from all parts of the country in- 
terested in the completion of the works provided for in 
the bill vetoed by the President. Almost every promi- 
nent man at the North was invited to attend, and ad- 
dress the convention. Several were present, and 
others sent letters expressive of their views. Among 
the latter was Mr. Wright. His letter was warmly 

11 



242 LETTER ON INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. 

commended by members of both parties, and was ad- 
mitted to be the ablest written on the occasion. The 
following extract from it will long be remembered by 
those who valued his opinions upon this great ques- 
tion : — 

"Were it possible for me to attend the proposed 
convention, without an unreasonable sacrifice, I should 
most gladly do so, as my location gives me a strong 
feeling in reference to the prosperity and safety of the 
commerce of the lakes. — The subject of the improve- 
ment of the lake harbors is one which my service in 
Congress has rendered somewhat familiar to me in a 
legislative aspect, while my personal travel upon the 
two lower lakes has made the necessity for these im- 
provements manifest to my senses. 

" I am aware that questions of constitutional power 
have been raised, in reference to appropriations of 
money by Congress for the improvement of the lake 
harbors ; and I am well convinced that honest men 
have sincerely entertained strong scruples upon this 
point ; but all my observation and experience have in- 
duced me to believe that these scruples, where the in- 
dividual admits the power to improve the Atlantic 
harbors, arises from a want of acquaintance with the 
lakes and the commerce upon them, and an inability 
to beheve the facts in relation to that commerce, when 
truly stated. It is not easy for one, familiar with the 
lakes and the lake commerce, to realize the degree of 
incredulity, as to the magnitude and importance of 
both, which is found in the minds of honest and well- 
informed men, residing in remote portions of the Union, 
and having no personal acquaintance with either ; 
while I do not recollect an instance of a member of 
Congress, who has travelled the lakes, and observed 



LETTER CONTINUED. 243 

the commerce upon them, within the last ten years, 
requiring any further evidence or argument, to induce 
him to admit the constitutional power and the pro- 
priety of appropriations for the lake harbors, as much 
as for those of the Atlantic coast. 

" I have long been of the opinion, therefore, that to 
impress the minds of the people of all portions of the 
Union with a realizing sense of the facts as they are, 
in relation to these inland seas, and their already vast 
and rapidly increasing commerce, would be all that is 
required to secure such appropriations as the state of 
the national treasury will from time to time permit, for 
the improvement of the lake harbors. I mean the im- 
provement of such harbors as the body of the lake 
commerce requires for its convenience and safety, as 
contra distinguished from the numerous applications 
for these improvements, which the various competing 
local interests upon the shores of the lakes may 
prompt ; and I make this distinction, because my own 
observation h^s shown that applications for harbor im- 
provements at the public expense are made and passed, 
within a distance of a very few miles, and at locations 
where, from the natural position of the lake and coast, 
a good harbor at either point would secure to the com- 
merce of the lake all the convenience and safety of 
duplicate improvements. Much of the difficulty of 
obtaining appropriations grows out of these conflicting 
applications ; and the sternness with which all are 
passed as necessary to the lake commerce, impairs the 
confidence of strangers to the local claims and inter- 
ests in the importance of all. 

"It is the duty of those who urge these improve- 
ments, for the great objects for which alone they should 
be made at the expense of the nation, viz : the conve- 



244 LETTER CONTINUED. 

nience and safety of the lake commerce, to be honest 
with Congress, and to urge appropriations only at points 
where these considerations demand them. The river 
improvements constitute a much more difficult subject, 
and the connection of them with the lake harbors, has 
often, to my knowledge, fatally prejudiced the former. 
There are applications for the improvement of rivers, 
about which, as a matter of principle and constitutional 
pov/er, I have no more doubt than about the harbors 
upon the lakes, or the Atlantic coast ; and there are 
those which, in my judgment, come neither within the 
principle nor the constitutional power ; but to draw a 
line between the two classes of cases, I cannot. I 
have witnessed numerous attempts to do this, but none 
of them have appeared to my mind to be very sound or 
very practical. The facts and circumstances are so 
very variant, between the various applications, that I 
doubt whether any general rule can be laid down, 
which will be found just and practical ; and I think the 
course most Hkely to secure a satisfactory result, with 
the least danger of a violation of principle, would be 
for Congress to act separately and independently upon 
each application. 

" There has appeared to me to be one broad distinc- 
tion between these cases, which has not always been 
regarded, but which I think always should be. It is 
between the applications to protect and secure the 
safety of commerce upon rivers, where it exists, and is 
regularly carried on in defiance of the obstructions 
sought to be removed, and in the face of the dangers 
they place in its way, and those applications which ask 
for improvement of rivers, that commerce may be ex- 
tended on them, where it is not. The one class appear 
to me to ask Congi'ess to regulate and protect com- 



INCREASED POPULARITY. 245 

merce upon rivers where commerce in fact exists, and 
the other, to create it upon rivers where it does not ex 
ist. This distinction, if carefully observed, might aid 
in determining some applications of both classes, but is 
not a sufficient dividing line for practical legislation, if 
it is for the settlement of the principle upon which all 
such applications should rest. I use the term ' com- 
merce' in this definition, as I do in this letter, in its 
constitutional sense and scope. 

" I must ask your pardon, gentlemen, for troubling 
you with so long and hasty a communication, in reply 
to your note. It is not made for any public use, but to 
express to you, very imperfectly, some of my views 
upon the interesting subjects you bring to my notice, 
which I shall not have the pleasure of communicating 
in person, and to satisfy you that I am not indifferent 
to your request.' 

The letter of Mr. Wright to the Chicago conven- 
tion, added a great deal to his popularity, w^hich was 
now rapidly on the increase in the northern states. 
When the causes of his defeat at the election in 1846 
became known, it prejudiced him but very little — 
scarcely at all. He had been prostrated, but, like An- 
teus of old, he had risen again, renewed in vigor and 
in strength. His course upon the Texas question, and 
his position wnth regard to the Wilmot Proviso, in des- 
pite of the attempts which had been made, had alien- 
ated but few friends from him even at the South ; and 
many of the most influential journals published in that 
quarter of the country, declared their willingness to 
overlook their ditference with him upon this one point, 
in view of his great talents and his unquestioned patriot- 
ism and integrity. His future prospects at this period, 
could not have been more encouraging to his ambition 



246 LABORS ON HIS FARM. 

— more cheering to his friends. He was in the prime 
of Hfe — in the matm'ity of his powerful intellect ; and 
the star of his fame Avas just culminating towards its 
zenith. But that life was destined to be prematurely 
closed — the fire of that intellect quenched — and the 
star obscured ere it had reached the meridian. 

It was customary with Mr. Wright, while a member 
of the Senate, to spend a great portion of his time, in 
the intervals between the sessions of Congress, in cul- 
tivating his garden, and a small farm which he owned. 
He had been taught to labor in his youth, and he did 
not lose his fondness for it as he grew older. It was a 
pleasure and a delight to him ; and he thought the ex- 
ercise necessary for the preservation of his health. In 
1838, General Macomb, Vv^hen on a tour of inspection 
along the northern frontier, made him a visit, the par- 
ticulars of which were communicated in a letter from 
which the following is an extract : — 

" I had occasion to visit Canton in October, and as 
soon as I arrived, I inquired for the residence of Mr. 
Wright. I was directed to a small, neat cottage, 
whither I made my way ; and on approaching it I saw 
a man with his coat off, wheeling a wheelbarrow along 
on one of the walks of a very large garden which was 
attached to the house. — As I came near, I discovered 
that the laborer was my friend Wright. He received 
me with great cordiality ; said tliat his garden was cul- 
tivated mainly by his own hands, and that he was put- 
ting away his winter vegetables, and preparing to de- 
part for Washington towards the last of the coming 
month. He further said, with the greatest apparent 
satisfaction, that he had recently purchased a farm, 
and intended to extend his agricultural operations. He 
Avas asked how large the farm was that he had pur 



LETTER OF HIS PHYSICIAN. 247 

chased, — to which he said, * twenty acres !' — and that 
either from natural inclination, or the effect of early- 
habits, he was much devoted to the pure and simple 
pursuits and pleasures of the country." 

When he returned from Albany, Mr. Wright re- 
sumed the frugal and laborious habits of a plain, un- 
pretending farmer. A short time before his election as 
governor, he had purchased a farm containing about 
one hundred acres in addition to w^hat he had pre- 
viously owned, lying on the outskirts of the village of 
Canton. A portion of the land had been partially 
cleared, but the remainder was new and uncultivated. 
He made some improvements upon it in 1844, though 
it still required a great deal of labor when he entered 
upon the duties of his office. After his return, he 
hired a good and faithful man, who was as fond of labor 
as himself, and together they commenced ditching, 
fencing, and clearing up the old timber, in order to fit 
the land for cultivation. " To the governor," says his 
physician, in a letter to the author, " it was more a 
matter of pleasure than of profit thus to employ his 
time. He labored so hard and so steady, that instead 
of remaining of his usual full proportions, he became 
quite spare. His day's work being ended, he would 
devote the night to reading, and his correspondence, 
which was always extensive ; and w4iich he kept up 
with, although it required late hours to do so. He was 
most strictly temperate both in eating and drinking; 
his food was of the plainest and simplest kind ; and he 
drank no ardent spirits, or wine, except on three or 
four occasions, during the year. When he was at la- 
bor he sweat profusely, and drank a great deal of cold 
water. He did not avoid the extremes of weather, and 
was often exposed to the rain and to the night air, with- 



248 AGRICULTURAL ADDRESS. 

out a coat, vest, or cravat ; and yet, during the whole 
time, he was not known to complain of the slightest de- 
viation from perfect health, though he occasionally said 
that toiling in the hot sun was oppressive to his head." 
The deep interest Mr. Wright ever manifested in the 
cause of agriculture, led to his being selected to de- 
liver the address before the state Agricultural Society, 
at their annual fair in September. The preparation of 
it was commenced in July, and occupied his mind 
for several weeks during the day, and his time during 
the evening. For nearly ten days previous to the sad 
termination of his existence, he was very busily en- 
gaged in clearing the ditches upon his farm and load- 
ing the dirt into a wagon ; or in harvesting his grain, 
and raking and binding it ; or in doing other work that 
required a stooping position of the body. On the 18th 
and 21st of August, while at work, he experienced sud- 
den attacks of pain in the chest, which did not last for 
any great length of time. On sitting down a few mo- 
ments, they passed off in a profuse sweat, leaving him 
apparently as well as ever. He mentioned the symp- 
toms of the second attack to others, and stated that he 
must have injured his health in some way, but did not 
appear to be alarmed. Yet it is evident that he had a 
premonition of what was so soon to befall him. On 
Thursday, the 26th of August, he attended a funeral, 
and walked with a gentleman, to whom he spoke 
of the almost instant death of a friend in an apo- 
plectic fit ; and there was so much solemnity in 
his tone and manner, that it made an unusual im- 
pression upon the mind of the person whom he ad- 
dressed. After returning from the funeral, he worked 
hard until a late hour in the evening, to finish getting 
in his grain. The day had been warm, and the night 



m 



SUDDEN ATTACK. 249 

was chilly. Before retiring for the night, he revised 
the address which he had been engaged in preparing, 
and made a few verbal corrections. This was his last 
mental effort, and, hke everything he said, or wrote, is 
well worthy to be carefully treasured. 

" On Friday, the 27th of August," says the letter of 
his physician, " he rose in the morning, to all appear- 
ance in perfect health. He ate his breakfast as usual, 
and between seven and eight o'clock went to the post- 
office, about twenty rods distant from his house, to get 
his letters and papers. They were handed to him, and 
he sat down, and commenced reading one of the let- 
ters. Before he had read far, he was observed by the 
clerk to lay the letter down, rise from his chair, and 
w^alk across the room. He then complained of a se- 
vere pain in his chest. It was at once proposed that I 
should be sent for ; but he observed, that he did not 
think it would be best ; that it would pass off du'ectly ; 
and that he had had tw^o similar attacks before, but he 
soon got over them. Some peppermint was given to 
him, however, but as he did not appear to get easier, it 
was again proposed to send for me. To this he con- 
sented. On arriving at the office, I found him sitting 
in a chair surrounded by his anxious friends, with a 
pale and haggard countenance, his skin and extremi- 
ties cold, and his pulse feeble and flickering. But in 
other respects there was nothing unnatural in his ap- 
pearance. His consciousness was perfect ; he con- 
versed freely ; and stated that the pain appeared to be 
superficial, and confined to the muscles covering his 
chest, and to his neck and arms, both of which were 
rendered almost useless." 

After taking a simple anodyne, Mr. Wright ex- 
pressed a wish to return home. The physician and his 

11* 



250 HIS DEATH. 

brother-in-law accompanied him, and offered to support 
him in walking. But he declined assistance ; his step 
was free and firm ; and he appeared to walk without diffi- 
culty. On reaching his house, he laid down upon the 
bed, and drafts and other external applications were or- 
dered, to relieve the pain and restore warmth. The phy- 
sician remained with him nearly half an hour, and made 
particular inquiries in regard to the symptoms of his 
attacks, yet he could discover nothing in addition indi- 
cating any disease of the brain or of the heart ; there 
was no exciting cause to produce the attack, as the let- 
ter Mr. Wright was reading came from a relative ; and 
he concluded that they were neuralgic in their charac- 
ter, and had been brought on by severe labor and im- 
proper exposure. He then left to visit another patient, 
but in a few moments was again summoned by the 
startling announcement, that Silas Wright was dying. 
He instantly returned, but only to find that all was 
over. Every effort to restore consciousness proved 
unavailing. The spirit that animated the mortal frame 
of the great and good man had fled forever. He is said, 
by medical men, to have probably died of angina pec- 
toris, or disease of the heart, or blood-vessels imme- 
diately connected with it. Shortly after the physician 
left him, he remarked to his wife, that the drafts were 
producing too powerful an effect. She took one from 
his chest to reduce it, and went into an adjoining room. 
A noise alarmed her, and when she returned to his bed- 
side, it was but to look upon him for the last time in 

life. 

The funeral ceremonies over the remains of Mr. 
Wright were had on the Sunday following his death. 
An immense concourse of people assembled from all 
parts of the county to pay due and appropriate respect 



EFFECT ON THE PUBLIC MIND. 251 

to his memory. The attendance was so great that 
many were unable to witness the services. The dis- 
course was dehvered by an old and intimate friend and 
neighbor, who had been his fellow-student in 1811, and 
had performed his marriage ceremony. A continued 
and uninterrupted friendship existed between them 
from the first period of their acquaintance, and when 
the speaker referred to the private virtues of the de- 
ceased in his early and subsequent life, the audience 
were most deeply moved. It was the voluntary offer- 
ing of grateful affection — a eulogy coming from the 
hearts of those who had known, and revered, and loved 
him. 

The intelligence of the death of Silas Wright pro- 
duced a powerful efiect upon the public mind. It was 
so sudden — so unexpected — that it thrilled through 
every heart. When a distinguished public man, who 
has passed beyond the ordinary limits of mortality, and 
lias apparently fulfilled his destiny upon the earth, is 
gathered to his fathers, his loss is universally deplored ; 
but when one is cut down in the vigor of manhood, 
without one note of warning, without any of the pre- 
monitory symptoms which usually precede dissolution, 
the impression is one of deep and awful solemnity. It 
seems to create a void that cannot be supplied. Like 
Dewitt Clinton, his predecessor in the chair of state, 
Silas Wright was removed when a brilliant futurity ap- 
peared to smile before him. On the very morning of 
his death, a paper published in one of the most remote 
counties in Missouri, hoisted his name as its candidate 
for the presidency, " subject to the decision of a na- 
tional convention." Before the sun had set, a Higher 
Power than that of mere man had decided the question 
forever. How many hopes were crushed — how many 



252 TRIBUTE OF MR. CLAY. 

ambitious aspirations blasted — by the death of one, 
who, it was thought, had so much yet to do, and from 
whom so much was expected ! His loss was mourned 
without distinction of creed or party, and few there 
were who did not echo back the exclamation of the 
poet,* 

" Man of the millions, thou art lost too soon!" 

The testimonials of regard for the high character of 
Silas Wright, and the evidences of sorrow for his 
death, were manifested in all sections of the Union. 
A public meeting was held of the citizens of Ogdens- 
burgh, in his own county ; and among others, the fol- 
lowing resolution, presented by one of his most active 
political opponents, was unanimously adopted : 

" Resolved, That having been reared himself under 
the severe but salutary lessons which labor teaches, his 
sympathies were keenly awake to the wants and wel- 
fare of the toiling million. He was always accessible 
to their approach, prompt with his counsel to enlighten, 
and ready to interpose kind offices and attentions where 
the anguish of disease was to be assuaged, or the pangs 
of grief alleviated. His life furnishes the invaluable 
example, that a man may occupy the highest post of 
honor, and return to private life and severe physical 
labor, with undiminished dignity." 

Mr. Clay was at the White Sulphur Springs in Vir- 
ginia, when he learned the sad news of Mr. Wright's 
death. It aifected him most sensibly, and he gave 
utterance to his feelings in a touching and eloquent 
impromptu to the memory of the deceased. He al- 
luded, in the strongest terms of commendation, to his 
generous nature, his uncompromising integrity, his 

* J. G. Whittier. 



NEW YORK MERCHANTS. 253 

accomplished powers in debate, and his eminent public 
services. What an example was this for politicians — 
what a reproof to the violent and vindictive partisan ! 
Proud and ambitious though he was, he could forget all 
their differences of opinion ; how earnestly Mr. Wright 
had combated all his favorite projects ; how much he 
had contributed to his defeat at the presidential election 
— all these he could forget, at such a time, and be the 
first to offer a tribute of regard, not more just to the 
dead, than it was honorable to the living. There are 
many manly traits in the character of Mr. Clay ; he has 
done many an act of noble disinterestedness — but none 
more worthy than this of honorable mention. 

Some weeks previous to the death of Mr. Wright, a 
subscription paper was circulated among the merchants 
in the city of New York, for the purpose of procuring 
a service of plate to be presented to him in their name. 
The plate was ordered, bearing the inscription — " Pre- 
sented to Silas Wright by his mercantile friends of the 
city of New York, in testimony of their high respect 
and regard for his public and private character" — and 
was nearly ready for the presentation. It will now go 
into the possession of his widow, and be valued, doubt- 
less, as the spontaneous gift of men who sought not 
official preferment, but who were influenced by their 
admiration for the talents and attainments of one placed 
by common consent among the great men of the nation, 
and who reverenced the virtues which combined to 
form a character so worthy of respect and esteem. 

The common councils of Albany and New York 
were called together, when the intelligence was re- 
ceived of the sudden decease of Mr. Wright, and took 
proper measures to express their sympathy. In New 
York the flags on the pubHc buildings, and of the ship- 



254 PROCEEDINGS OF THE LEGISLATURE. 

ping in the harbor, were displayed at half-mast. The 
pilots of the port also held a meeting, and passed resolu- 
tions expressive of their indebtedness to him for " many 
and signal kindnesses," and of their condolence with 
Mrs. Wright in her afflicting bereavement. An extra 
session of the New York Legislature was held on the 
8th of September, rendered necessary on account of 
the recent amendment of the state constitution. On 
the second day of the session, Governor Youns: com- 
municated the following message to the two Houses : — 

ExKCUTivK Chamber, 1 

Albany, Sept. 9, 1847. J 
*' To the Legislature — 

Silas Wright, the late Chief Magistrate of this 
State, died at his residence in Canton, in the county of 
St. Lawrence, on the 27th day of August last. 

" Although scarcely arrived at the meridian of life, 
he had not only held the office of Governor of this 
State, but had discharged, with singular ability, the 
various duties pertaining to the offices of State Senator, 
Comptroller, and Senator in the Congress of the United 
States. 

" As a Statesman he occupied a high place among 
the distinguished public men of the age. 

" In private life he enjoyed in an eminent degree, the 
respect and esteem, of those to whom he was personally 
known. 

"Although his name will go down to posterity without 
the aid of official records, his eminent public services 
and great private worth render it proper that I should 
thus announce to you his death, to the end that such 
measures may be adopted, as are demanded by the deep 
feehng that pervades the community. 

" JOHN YOUNG." 



REMARKS OF ME. SPENCER. 255 

A joint committee was appointed by the Senate and 
Assembly, who reported a series of resolutions regret- 
ting the loss sustained by the state and country, sym- 
pathizing with the kindred and friends, and directing 
the usual badge of mourning to be worn for thirty 
days. Eloquent speeches were delivered in the Assem- 
bly, by Mr. Perkins of St. Lawrence, and Mr. Hadley, 
of Rensselaer, before the adoption of the resolutions, 
and the adjournment which immediately took place. 
In the Senate, a speech was made by Joshua A. Spen- 
cer, who was opposed to Mr. Wright in politics, which 
was as creditable to himself as it was just and appro- 
priate. He said : — 

" Mr. President — Although I have had no opportu- 
nity to make the slightest preparation for submitting 
any remarks, on this melancholy occasion, yet I can- 
not in justice to my own feelings, permit these resolu- 
tions to pass with entire silence. It is indeed, sir, an 
afflicting dispensation of Providence which has fallen 
upon our country — not the state only, but the entire 
country has felt the blow. In truth, a great man, an 
able statesman, a good citizen, has fallen asleep with 
his fathers. The statesman whose memory we com- 
memorate, as all well know who are conversant with 
the history of one of the greatest men in the country, 
was born in the state of Massachusetts, and was edu- 
cated in Vermont, where he graduated from one of the 
highest institutions of learning. He studied his pro- 
fession in this state, and having obtained a residence 
in the county of St. Lawrence, he there first com- 
menced his professional and political career. Since 
that period he has been so well known to the country, 
and to the world, that I need make no particular allu- 
sion to his history. 



256 REMARKS CONTINUED. 

** Without referring to the local offices which he held, 
soon after he settled in the countv of St. Lawrence, for 
any other purpose than as furnishing evidence of the 
just appreciation of his merits as a citizen and a man, 
and of his ability and talents, I will only remark, that 
the first office which brought him into general public 
notice, was that of senator in the Senate of this state. 
If my memory serves me right, he took his place in the 
Senate in the year 1824, and from that period I have 
had the pleasure to know Silas Wright personally, and 
often, in a legislative capacity, had intercourse with 
him ; and it affi^rds me sincere pleasure to bear my 
feeble testimony to the great patriotism, integrity, firm- 
ness and intellect, which he at all times brought to bear 
upon every subject — and which distinguished the man- 
ner in which he discharged his public duties. 

" While holding that office he was transferred to an- 
other and larger sphere of action. He was elected to 
the popular branch of the Congress of the United States 
in 1826, and again re-elected in 1828. All who know the 
history of the legislation of the Congress of 1827 and 
1828, will remember full well how very soon, indeed that 
at once, Mr. Wright took and held, and ever maintained 
a distinguished position in the Congress of the Union. 
From that station he was transferred to the office of 
comptroller of this state, which he held for a consid- 
erable number of years, and the duties of which office 
all know to be discharged with singular fidelity. While 
still holding that position he was again transferred to 
more enlarged duties. He was elected a senator from 
the state of New York in the Congress of the United 
States. And if I am not mistaken in the character 
and reputation of Silas Wright, it was in that field, more 
than any other, that he became eminently distinguished 



REMARKS CONTINUED. 257 

as a public man. He was there surrounded by the 
first talents, not only of his country, but the world. A 
brisrht constellation shone there throughout the whole 
period of his connection with that body ; and the most 
distinguished of his opponents, acknowledged him a 
foeman worthy of their steel. Courteous in debate, 
never losing his self-possession, he was ever consistent, 
clear, logical and convincing. 

" From that station, as all know, he was elected 
governor of this state, which office he held for two 
years, and had but recently retired from the discharge 
of those duties, to pursue the quiet walks of agricul- 
tural life, on his farm in the county of his early settle- 
ment. It is not saying too much to affirm, that there 
are very few men in this state, or in the nation at large, 
who have left a more indelible imprint on the records of 
our country, or whose history will be written in brighter 
pages than that of Silas Wright. It is not necessary 
for me to dwell on the public character of this distin- 
guished man : all, even the children of the state, are 
familiar with it. It may not become me to speak much 
of Silas Wright in private life, for I had not the pleas- 
ure of knowing him intimately in the associations of his 
neighbors and friends. But there are many others who 
knew him as such, as well as in the public councils. 
His great excellence of private worth, in the relations 
of husband, neighbor, friend and townsman, is univer- 
sally acknowledged. 

" I have but to remark, in conclusion, Mr. President, 
that this sudden bereavement should admonish us all 
of the uncertainty of life. No vigor of physical abil- 
ity, no mental endowments, add to the security of our 
existence. We have a most melancholy example be- 
fore us. In the midst of his years, in the day of his 



258 THE STATE FAIR. 

greatest usefulness to his country, and with prospects 
as bright as those of his earUest years, Silas Wright 
has been cut down. Let us all be prepared to follow 
him." 

The Agricultural Address written by Mr. Wright, 
just before his death, was read at the State Fair held in 
Saratoga on the 16th of September, by his friend John 
A. Dix, and prefaced with some well-timed and eloquent 
remarks.* The address was prepared with careful 
deliberation, and discusses with ability the great ques- 
tions of political economy connected with agriculture. 
There is much matter contained in it for earnest 
thought and serious consideration. Whether its posi- 
tions be correct, or incorrect, there is not a farmer, not 
a citizen in the whole land, but will be benefited by its 
perusal. After it was read, the following resolutions 
were adopted by the members of the society : — 

" Resolved, That the address which has just been 
read be printed ; and that the president be requested 
to ask the permission of Mrs. Wright to retain the 
original draft of the address, to be placed in the ar- 
chives of the society ; and to express to her, at the 
same time, the deep sympathy and regret which is felt 
by all its members, for the irreparable loss which has 
so suddenly overwhelmed herself and the state, in a 
common grief. 

" Resolved, That in the death of Silas Wright, late 
governor of this state, the New York State Agricul- 
tural Societv have lost a friend and benefactor, an hon- 
ored and useful member, and the community an illus- 
trious example of republican simplicity in private, as 
well as inflexible honesty and great capacity, in public 
life. 

♦ See Appendix. 



PERSONAL ArrEARANCE. 259 

" Resolved, That a committee of this society be ap- 
pointed by the president thereof, to prepare a brief me- 
moir, illustrative of his character, his virtues, and his 
eminent public services, for publication, with the ad- 
dress delivered on this occasion, in the transactions 
for '47 — a duty the more gratefully performed, as the 
last public act of his life, was one of beneficence to the 
farmers of his country." 

But the expressions of sorrow and sympathy, elicited 
by the death of Mr. Wright, were not confined to his 
immediate friends and acquaintances ; the painful feel- 
ings to which it gave rise extended farther and wider : 
the loss was great, very great to the state he had so 
long represented in the national councils ; but it was 
equally regretted, equally deplored, throughout the 
Union. His fame and reputation had extended be- 
yond the limits of New York — they were no longer 
exclusively her own ; — they belonged to the whole 
country. The powerful intellect which had conferred 
so much honor upon its possessor, and reflected so 
much credit upon the land that gave him birth, formed 
part of that bright galaxy of mind, to which the dweller 
upon the banks of the Mississippi could point with pride 
and pleasure, as well as he who resided on the shores 
of the Atlantic. The painful intelligence, that one so 
loved, so honored, had passed away forever, in the 
noontide of life, called forth expressions of regret, at 
the north and at the south, in the east and in the west. 
It was not for his own state alone to lament such a 
calamity — it was for the nation to mourn its bereave- 
ment. 

In person, Mr. Wright was large and muscular, hale 
and vigorous. His stature was about five feet and 
nine or ten inches. His complexion was florid ; his 



260 CHARACTER AS A FRIEND AND CITIZEN. 

hair a light brown ; and his eyes of a bluish gray. 
Constant exercise in early youth had developed his 
form, and rendered him heartv and robust. He was 
somewhat inclined to corpulency in later years, but 
not by any means what could be called gross. He 
was aware of the plethoric tendency of his constitu- 
tion, and for that reason, probably, devoted more of 
his leisure time to manual labor than he otherwise 
w^ould have done. He dressed quite plainly, and was 
simple in all his habits. He usually enjoyed excellent 
health ; except in the fall of 1834, he was never known 
to be seriously ill, until the fatal attack that terminated 
his existence. 

In his domestic relations, he was everything that 
could be desired — a tender and affectionate husband — 
a faithful and devoted friend. He had no children. 
As has been beautifully said of Washington and Jack- 
son — " Providence denied him these, that he might the 
better serve his country ;" or, as he himself expressed 
it, " that he might be a father to the children of his 
friends!" His manners vv^e re affable, and his address 
pleasing and agreeable. He never forgot the dignity 
of his position or of his character ; but he always had 
a kind word and a cheerful smile to greet those who 
visited him. As a citizen, he was generous and public 
spirited, and tlie influence of his example was upon 
the side of morality and good order. Says one who 
knew him intimately for many years : " In his social 
intercourse, I never heard him utter an unchaste word 
or an immoral sentiment. Whenever he returned from 
his public positions, to the place of his residence, he 
returned to the simple, frugal, and industrious habits 
of a New England farmer, and to the kind and neigh- 



MANNER AS A SPEAKER. 261 

borly offices which so eminently distinguished the early 
rural population of our pilgrim fathers." 

In the pubHc schools and seminaries of learning, in 
his own county, and in the state at large, he took a 
deep interest. Anything designed to increase the hap- 
piness, or promote the prosperity, of his fellow-citizens, 
was sure to receive his patronage and encouragement. 
He was not in affluent circumstances, yet he possessed 
what, to one of his moderate wants, was a competency. 
Though he had filled many high offices, and occupied 
situations which atTorded him frequent opportunities for 
the acquisition of wealth, his thoughts were directed to 
other, and, unless riches are sought in the proper spirit, 
to what may be called nobler purposes. His punctual- 
ity was proverbial. After he became a member of the 
Senate, his correspondence was extensive, and often 
proved a great tax to him, in time, if not in money. 
But he was never forgetful of those who addressed him, 
and invariably adhered to his rule, not to leave a letter 
unanswered for a single day, except w^here the nature 
of the subject required a lengthy and deliberate reply. 

Silas Wrisjht was not an orator— that is, he would 
not have been termed eloquent, in the common accep- 
tation of the word. There was no attempt at display 
in his manner, nor rhetorical embellishment in his lan- 
guage ; but he was an able and intelligent speaker. 
He had not the graceful delivery of Clay, or the em- 
phatic earnestness of Calhoun ; yet there was a sub- 
dued enthusiasm in his style of speaking that was ir- 
resistibly captivating ; and though his voice was not 
pleasant, this was almost instantly forgotten in the 
beauty of his argument. There was nothing declam- 
atory about him. He appealed to no man's passions or 
prejudices. He was cool and collected, and carefully 



262 MENTAL aUALITIES. 

preserved his own equanimity, while he avoided giving 
offence, or provoking ill-feeling. He spoke slowly, but 
distinctly and fluently, and with evident care and de- 
liberation. His hearers were charmed ; and listened, 
but to be charmed again. Every word seemed to is- 
sue forth at the proper time, and in the proper place. 
All was clear, forcible, logical and persuasive. 

He was not destitute of ambition ; but his was not 
that low and grovelling passion which seeks its gratifi- 
cation in the present — it was rather that nobler, and 
purer, and loftier sentiment, which is directed to higher 
ends and higher aims ; which strives for the w^elfare of 
one's country and race ; and looks to the future, not 
over-confident, but trustful and hopeful, for a sure re- 
ward. He w^as totally devoid of selfishness. During 
the administrations of Jackson and Van Buren, he 
might have commanded some of the most lucrative of- 
fices in the gift of the national executive, but he asked 
for none of them ; and w^hen they were tendered to 
him, he put them aside, not as Caesar put aside the 
crown, to have them urged upon him, but because he was 
content to remain where he was, in the Senate. The 
sterling qualities of his mind peculiarly fitted hin7; for 
the sphere in which he moved. It has been said, that 
" the book of a statesman is the human heart." No one 
perused it more attentively than he. His foresight and 
sagacity were remarkable. He was a sound and care- 
ful thinker — clear-headed, practical, and discreet. His 
mind was evenly balanced and well disciplined. Suc- 
cess was not followed by a lack of caution ; and dan- 
ger did not intimidate him. Like the sturdy Alpine 
hunter, with the mountain-torrent dashing beneath his 
feet, and the dreaded avalanche thundering in the dis- 
tance, he was not indifferent to peril, but firmly and 



SUCCESS AS A POLITICIAN. 263 

calmly prepared to meet it. Politics appeared to him 
to be a science worthy of the best energies of his mind, 
and he sought, in his life and conduct, to give it that 
elevated character which it deserved. He belonged to 
a higher grade of politicians — he was a statesman. 

But was he successful ? — for this, after all, unjust as 
it may sometimes be, is made by many the surest test 
of ability and sagacity in a public man. In this re- 
spect also, his friends and admirers can find nothing to 
regret. He opposed the establishment of a National 
Bank — none has been chartered — and there is scarce a 
prominent politician in the Union who is willing to risk 
his popularity in advocating such an institution. He 
sustained the measures of General Jackson's adminis- 
tration ; the results of the subsequent elections have 
shown that the people approved them. He spoke and 
voted against the Distribution of the Proceeds of the 
Public Lands — that measure has never vet been carried 
into effect. He advocated the Independent Treasury 
system, long and earnestly — the bill was passed — it was 
repealed, but revived again, and is now the law of the 
land. He was in favor of a Revenue Tariff discrimi- 
nating, incidentally, for the purpose of affording pro- 
tection to the agricultural, commercial, and manufac- 
turino; interests of the country, — he lived to see one in 
force, differing in some of its details from what he 
would have prescribed, but approximating more nearly 
to his views than any similar enactment. There were 
other questions which he regarded as of great impor- 
tance, though opportunity did not occur to manifest his 
sentiments as he might have wished, that were still 
agitated at the time of his death ; but let them be de- 
cided when they may, and how they may, his influence 
will be felt in their decision. 



264 HIS MEMORY. 

It is said, that his friends in the county where he re- 
sided are about to erect a monument over his grave. 
That is both just and appropriate. Such mementoes 
serve to point the Hving where the honored dead re- 
pose. While they admonish the beholder, of the un- 
certainty of life, and the certainty of death ; they serve 
to encourage ambition, and enkindle love of virtue, and 
love of country. Let the memorial be erected, then ; 
and when that silent tomb in St. Lawrence becomes 
the Mecca of those who shall live after us, the pilgrim 
may stand beside it, and feel awed in the presence that 
will hover around that consecrated spot. Yet, there 
will be a more enduring monument than this — one that 
will not perish, like the frail handiwork of man. It 
will be reared in the memories of the American people. 
The name and the fame of Silas Wright v/ill live, as 
long as philanthropy and patriotism continue to ani- 
mate the hearts of his countrymen. 



A P P E IT D I X . 



SPEECH, 



ON PRESENTING THE RESOLUTIONS OF THE NEW YORK LEGISLATURE, 

APPROVING OF THE COURSE OF PRESIDENT JACKSON AND OF 

THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY WITH REGARD 

TO THE REMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITS. 

[Delivered in the United States Senate, January 3D, 1834.] 

I HOLD in my hand, Mr. President, and am about to ask leave to 
present to the Senate, certain proceedings of the Legislature of my 
State, in which that body expresses its sentiments in regard to tlie 
removal, (as it is called,) of the public moneys from their deposit 
in the Bank of the United States, made by order of the secretary 
of the treasury ; in regard to the recharter of the Bank of the 
United States, and in regard to the existing pressure upon the money 
market in some portions of the country, with its views of the char- 
acter and causes of that pressure ; and in which, also, that Legis- 
lature expresses its pleasure as to the course which the representa- 
tives of the state, upon this floor, shall pursue, when called to act 
upon these questions. 

In presenting, a few days since, the proceedings of limited por- 
tions of the people of their respective states, upon the same subjects, 
honorable senators took occasion, no doubt properly, to inform the 
Senate of the number, character and standing, political as well as 
personal, of those whose sentiments they laid before us ; to tell us 
as well who they were, as who they were not. I beg the indul- 
gence of the Senate, while, following the example set me, I detail 
some facts in relation to the body whose proceedings it has become 
my duty to present, tending to show the extent to which the pro- 
ceedings themselves claim the respectful attention of Congress. 

The whole number of members allowed by the constitution of 
the state of New York to its Legislature, is one hundred and twenty- 
eight members of Assembly and tliirty-two senators. The members 



uil 



268 SPEECH RELATIVE TO 

of Assembly are appointed to the fifty-five counties of the state 
according to their respective population, and the whole territory is 
divided into eight districts for the election of senators, each district 
having four, and electing one of the four every year. The pro- 
ceedings which I am about to present, were passed in the House of 
Assembly by a vote of one hundred and eighteen for, to nine against, 
and in the Senate by a vote of thirty-three for, to five against them ; 
thus showing the very unusual occurrence, that of the one hun- 
dred and sixty members elected by the people to that Legislature, 
one hundred and fifty-five Vv'ere present and acting upon these inte- 
resting and important questions. 

But, sir, if this unexampled strength and unanimity of expression 
be entitled to weight, and it surely must be, while authentic evidence 
of public opinion is allowed an influence in our deliberations, that 
weight is greatly enhanced by the peculiar circumstances attending 
the expression. All these members of the popular branch of that 
Legislature, and eight of the thirty-two senators were elected during 
the first week in November last, one full month after the change of 
the deposits, while the vote shows that more than thirteen to one 
of the members of Assembly voted for, while but one of the eight 
senators, thus elected, voted against the resolutions. Still, the 
strength of this vote, taken as an expression of public opinion, will 
be much increased by an examination of its territorial distribution. 

It is well known here, and throughout the country, that the ex- 
treme western district of the state of New York, has been unhap- 
pily, but most severely agitated, in consequence of an outrage, sev- 
eral years since, committed against the liberty, and probably upon 
the life, of a citizen. The efifects of this outrage have been, not 
only the engendering of the most bitter domestic feuds, but the par- 
tial establishment of a geographical line of separation in feeling 
between that and the other sections of the state. It is, however, a 
source of high gratification to myself to be able to state, as I trust it 
will be of pleasure to all liberal minded men to learn, that this un- 
natural warfare of feeling is most rapidly subsiding ; that the deep 
wounds which have been created by it, in the social relations of that 
otherwise highly favored section of the state, are healing fast, and 
that the time is not distant when the evidence of its existence and 
effects will entirely disappear. In this section of the state, how- 
ever, not an expression of complaint as to a pecuniary pressure has 
been heard ; and from the best advices, I believe that, at this mo- 



THE REMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITS. 269 

ment, its business relations of every description are in a more pros- 
perous and easy condition than they have ever before been. Yet to 
the west and north-west must we look for every vote against the 
resolutions, and to this section alone for eleven out of the fourteen 
of these votes. The remaining three are, with one exception, sen- 
ators not elected at the election of November last, but in previous 
years, and all are located beyond the reach of the present pressure ; 
in the agricultural, not in the commercial sections. In those por- 
tions of the state embracing our great commercial emporium, (and 
which I think I may, without arrogance or presumption, style the 
commercial emporium of the United States,) and the extensive cities 
of Hudson, Albany, Troy, Schenectady and Utica, and an almost 
endless number of incorporated trading towns and villages, all sur- 
rounded by a dense, intelligent and watchful population, amounting 
together to at least one million eight hundred thousand souls, there 
was not found a single member of the popular branch of that Legis- 
lature absent from his seat, or not with cheerfulness and alacrity 
recording his name in favor of the resolutions. Of the hundred and 
twenty-eight members composing this branch of the Legislature, it 
is worthy of remark, that the city of New York alone elects eleven, 
and that every representative from that city, in either branch of the 
state Legislature, responds to the resolutions Vv^hich I now lay before 
the Senate. 

Of the members of this Legislature, personally, it is not my inten- 
tion to speak. The situations they hold and their public acts are the 
legitimate evidence of the capacity and respectability of the indi- 
viduals It is as the organ, upon this occasion, of this deliberative 
body, representing, as they do, two millions of freemen, nearly the 
one-sixth part of the entire population of the Union ; a population, 
too, as commercial, nay, sir, I may say more commercial, and em- 
ploying more capital than any other portion of the country, and col- 
lecting and paying into the national treasury fully one-third of its 
whole revenues ; a people having as deep a stake, pecuniary and 
otherwise, in the prosperity of this country, and as fimdy and ardently 
devoted to its welfare as any other equal portion of its citizens ; it is 
as the organ of such a body, representing such a people, that I sub- 
rait to the Senate this part of their public proceedings — that I ask 
to place their almost unanimous opinions as to the conduct of tlie 
President, of the secretary of the treasury, and of the United States 
bank, upon your files, by the side of similar expressions from the 



270 SPEECH RELATIVE TO 

States of Ohio and New Jersey ; also by the side of different expres- 
sions from portions of the people from Boston and New Bedford, in 
Massachusetts ; of Salisbury, in North Carolina, and Newark, in 
New Jersey, and such other expressions of opinions as are, or as 
may come before the Senate upon the same subjects ; and, at this 
interesting crisis in the affairs of our common country, I respectfully 
solicit from the Sena-te that consideration for these proceedings of 
the Legislature of my state, which a liberal, just, and unprejudiced 
estimate of the views and feelings of any respectable portion of the 
citizens of the country may demand, and no more. 

Here, sir, I might resume my seat, and I should do so with pleas- 
ure, were it not that a part of what I have felt to be an imperative 
duty upon this occasion remains to be performed. 

In presenting the proceedings of a meeting of a portion of the 
tov/n of Boston, the honorable senator from Massachusetts, (Mr. 
Webster.) availed himself of the occasion to express his own views 
as to the existence of a public pressure, cf its cause, and of the ap- 
propriate mode of relief. He went further, sir, and called upon all, 
and especially upon those who sustain the administration upon this 
floor in relation to the change of the deposits, to give their views as 
to the future as Vv^ell as the present posture of the pecuniary affairs 
of the country. As an individual, and as one considering it one of 
my highest duties to sustain the administration in this measure, I 
am ready to respond to the senator with entire frankness ; but in 
thus accepting his call, I must not be understood as for one moment 
entertaining the vain impression that opinions and views pronounced 
by me here, or elsewhere, will acquire any importance because they 
are my opinions and my views. I know well, sir, that my name 
carries not with it authority anywhere ; but I also know that so far 
as I may entertain and shall express opinions which are, or which 
shall be found, in accordance with the enlightened public opinion 
of this country, so f;ir they will be sustained, and no farther. 

Following then, Mr. President, the example which has been set 
for me, I shall abstain from a discussion of controverted points, so 
far as that can be done, and enable me to state unresen^edly my 
opinions, and to make my views intelligible. 

First, then, as to the fact of an existing pressure upon the money 
market, I believe that the recent extensive and sudden curtailment, 
by the Bank of the United States, in the facilities for credit, which 
had before been lavished upon the community, has caused very con" 



THE REMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITS. 271 

siderable embarrassment to those in our commercial cities, who had 
extended widely their moneyed operations, and who had made them- 
selves dependent upon these facilities ; but, at the same time, I be- 
lieve that these inconveniences have been in an unimportant degree, 
either directly or consequentially, extended to other classes of citi- 
zens. I therefore believe further, that the extent of the pressure has 
been greatly exaggerated, and that the motives for that exaggeration 
are to be found, primarily, in the belief that tlie present administra- 
tion may be brought into disfavor with the people, and may be over- 
thrown through the agency of the panic which is attempted to be 
gotten up, and secondarily, in the hope that the same panic, if suc- 
cessfully produced, may subserve the interests of the institution by 
which it has been and is to be raised. 

Secondly, as to the immediate cause of the pressure, I concur 
fully with the senator from Massachusetts, that it is an error to 
attribute it to the mere fact of the change of the deposits. The 
reasons he has assigned for that opinion are sufficient. They 
might be amplified and enforced, but it is unnecessary upon the 
present occasion. Past experience, concurring facts, and the nature 
of the transaction, all combine to demonstrate that such a change 
would not, necessarily, draw after it such a result. I concur also 
with tlie honorable senator, (Mr, Webster,) in the position, that the 
evil com.plained of is to be attributed to the change v.^hich has taken 
place in the posiiions which the Government, the Bank of the United 
States, and the state banks have heretofore occupied relatively 
towards each other, and to the acts which have followed that change. 
These positions, as at present existing, are pronounced by the honor- 
able senator to be false. That the attitude which the Bank of the 
United States has chosen to assume towards the Government and 
the state banks is a false position, I must cheerfully admit ; but that 
there has been anything in the conduct of either the Government 
or the state banks to justify or even excuse that attitude, I deny, 
and hope to have an opportunity to attempt to disprove. From the 
Government directly no loans could be obtained or were expected, 
and it was well known that the state banks which have been selected 
as the fiscal agents of the Government, had extended their loans 
many millions, and to the utmost limit autliorized by the public de- 
posits in tlieir vaults. It is neither shown nor pretended that the 
other state banks have curtailed their loans in consequence of the 
change of the deposits, except when the curtailments by the Bank 



272 SPEECH RELATIVE TO 

of the United States and its branches have compelled them to do so. 
We have, however, record evidence from itself, that the Bank of the 
United States has curtailed its loans, since the first day of August 
last, and up to the first day of December last, to the enormous amount 
of $9,697,000, and all this curtailment has taken place in the entire 
absence of any revulsion in trade, of any scarcity in the country, or 
any other peculiar cause of embarrassment, existing or anticipated. 
We need not then grope in the field of speculation for the cause 
of the present pressure. It stands before us recorded in letters and 
figures which cannot lie, and which leave us without excuse for 
misunderstanding, or for affecting to misunderstand it. 

Thirdly, as to the motives for this conduct on the part of the 
bank, I have already said, I deny that a justifiable one is to be found 
either in the conduct of the Government, or of the state banks, to- 
wards it ; and I repeat the assertion. Whether or not this curtail- 
ment of its business has been rendered necessary on the part of the 
bank, in consequence of former mismanagement, I need not inquire, 
inasmuch as the bank itself, and all its friends and supporters, here 
and elsewhere, most strenuously deny that its present condition fur- 
nishes any necessity for increased means. I have looked carefully 
into the instructions originally given by the secretary of the treasury 
to the state banks, in relation to the course to be pursued by them 
towards the Bank of the United States, and I find there nothing to 
warrant an apprehension that any disposition existed on the part of 
the Government to injure the bank, or to embarrass it in the prosecu- 
tion of its lawful business. I have examined, with equal care, the 
instructions given in regard to the transfer drafts, and tlie cir- 
cumstances under which they were to be. and were in fact, used. 
And these acts of the Government, taken in connection with the 
large amount of money still left in the bank, and which, upon a dif- 
ferent supposition, would assuredly have been also withdrawn, I 
hold to furnish undeniable evidence that no disposition was enter- 
tained or manifested on the part of the Government to WTong this 
institution. The only design evinced was to exercise a legal right, 
reserved by the charter, to change the deponits, and to continue an 
imcompromising, to be sure, but constitutional opposition to the 
renewal of the charter of the bank. That for these constitutional 
and legal acts, it has pleased the bank to wreak its vengeance upon 
the community, I neither allege nor believe. That the state banks 
have made the slightest hostile movements against it, neither is nor 



THE REMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITS. 273 

can be pretended. What, then, is the motive for this rapid curtail- 
ment ? I have not the shghtest doubt, Mr. President, that, in the 
language of the resolutions I hold in my hand, it is to be found, and 
found only, in an attempt of the bank, " at a time of general pros- 
perity, to produce pecuniary distress and alarm, and in exercising 
its power with a view to extort a renewal of its charter from the 
fears of the people." So much for the pressure, and the causes 
of it. 

I will now consider the remedy for the e\'il which the senator pro- 
poses. Leaving the discussion of everything constitutional, political 
and expedient, the senator, with his usual tact, goes directly to the 
matter in hand ; and with the utmost confidence he tells us, that the 
remedy is not to be found in the restoration of the deposits, but in 
the recharter of the present bank. Whatever else may be said of 
this avowal, it must, at least, be admitted, that it does credit to the 
candor of tlie senator. For myself, I thank him, and the country 
will thank him also. It is time, Mr. President, high time, that things 
should be called by their right names in relation to the depending 
controversy ; that the veil with which it has hitherto been attempted 
to disguise the subject, should be torn off, and that the people should 
know what is the question which is, in fact, occupying the attention 
of Congress. This being done by the declaration of the senator, 
there is reason to hope that we may hereafter be, if we have not 
heretofore been, aided by contributions of public sentiment, so far as 
the Senate may think proper to allow influences of that sort to enter 
into its deliberations. And, sir, I venture the prediction, that if the 
expressions now upon our files, or those which shall hereafter be 
placed there, as evidences of public sentiment, shall be examined, it 
will appear that the good sense and ingenuity of the senator in de- 
vising this remedy, has only placed him upon a level with the com- 
mon opinion of the whole community, as to the real question in dis- 
pute ; that every paper favoring the views of the opponents of the 
administration, has and will, expressly or impliedly, recognize the 
fact that the question before the public is " bank or no bank," and 
that the real issue has that direction, not the disposition of the 
government deposits. A petition for recharter is a mere matter 
of form wliich can at any time bo brought forward. A few days, 
or even a few hours, are sufficient for that object, and we ought not 
to permit ourselves to doubt that such a petition will be forthcom- 
ing, or not, according to the decision of tliis merely incidental ques- 

12* 



274 SPEECH RELATIVE TO 

tion, now made to assume the place and importance of the real 
issue. 

But, Mr. President, while I highly approve of the open and manly 
ground taken by the senator from Massachusetts, I differ \\'ith him 
ioto ccelo as to the remedy he proposes. There is no inducement which 
can prevail on me to vote for the recharter of the Bank of the United 
States. I would oppose this bank upon the ground of its flagrant 
violations of the high trusts confided to it ; but my objections arc 
of a deeper and graver character. I go against this bank, and 
against any and every bank to be incorporated by Congress, whe- 
ther to be located at Philadelphia, or New York, or anywhere else 
within the twenty-four independent states which compose this con- 
federacy, upon the broad ground which admits not of compromise, 
that Congress has not the power, by the constitution, to incorporate 
such a bank. 

I may be over-sanguine, Mr. President, but I do m.ost firmly be- 
lieve that, in addition to the invaluable services already rendered to 
his country by the President of the United States, he is, under 
Providence, destined still to render her a greater than all, by being 
mainly instrumental in restoring the constitution of the country to 
what it v;as intended to be by those whD formed it, and to what 
it was understood to bo by the people who adopted it ; in reliev- 
ing that sacred instrument from those constructive and implied 
additions, under which Congress have claimed the right to place 
beyond the reach of the people, and without responsibility, a moneyed 
power, not merely dangerous to public liberty, but of a character so 
formidable as to set itself in open array against, and to attempt 
to overrule the Government of the country. I believe the high 
destiny is yet in store for that venerable man, of disproving the 
exalted compliment long since paid him by the great apostle of re- 
publicanism, " that he had already filled the measure of his country's 
glory," and that he is yet to accomplish, what neither Thomas Jef- 
ferson nor his illustrious successors could accomplish, by adding to 
the proof which he has so largely contributed to afford, that his 
country is invincible by arms, the consolatory fact that there is, at 
least, one spot upon earth v/here written constitutions are rigidly 
regarded. I know, sir, that this work, which the President has 
undertaken, and upon the success of which he has, with his usual 
moral courage, staked the hard-earned fruits of a glorious life, is 
full of difficulty. I know well that it will put the fortitude and 



THE REMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITS. 275 

patriotism of his countrymen to the severest test ; but I am happy 
also to know that he has, in this instance, as heretofore, put himself 
upon the fortitude and patriotism of a people who have never yet 
failed him, or any man who was himself faithful to his country in the 
hour of peril. 

Of the course which the state which I have the honor in part to 
represent here, will take in this great contest, it becomes me, form- 
ing so humble a part of its voice in the councils of the nation, and 
known only by the favors I have received at its hands, to speak 
with great diffidence. In the resolutions I now lay before the Sen- 
ate, it has spoken for itself upon most of the points involved. As 
to the others, I feel that my knowledge of the character of its peo- 
ple, and of the known sentiments of whole masses of its public men, 
will justify me in the confident expression of an opinion, that the 
state will sustain the executive to the utmost in this controversy ; 
and that I may say to those who are, and long have been, desirous 
to restore the constitution, in this regard, to its true reading, " now's 
the day, and now's the hour," for its accomplishment. At all events, 
I have the right to say, tliat I will place myself by the side of the 
President, to the full extent of tlie views I have given, and that I 
desire to stand or fall with my constituents, as tliey shall determine 
the result. 

I have thus responded, and I hope the senator from Massachu- 
setts will allow fully, to so much of his appeal. I will go on. sir, 
and cover the whole ground. lie has asked, if you will neither re- 
charter the present bank nor establish a new one, what will you do ? 
As an individual, sir, and speaking for myself only, I say I will sus- 
tain tlie executive branch of the Government, by all the legal means 
in my power, in the effort now making to substitute the state banks in- 
stead of the Bank of the United States, as the fiscal aofent of the Gov- 
emment. I believe they are fully competent to the object. I am 
wholly unmoved by the alarms which have been sounded, either as 
to their insecurity, or influence, or any other danger to be appre- 
hended from their employment. I hold tlie steps so far taken in 
furtherance of this object, well warranted by the constitution and 
laws of the land, and I believe that the honor and best interests of 
the coimtry, imperiously require that they should be fully sustained 
by the people, and by their representatives here. 

That these views are correct, it is not of course my intention, at 
this time, to attempt to show. In some stage of the debate upon 



276 SPEECH RELATIVE TO 

this great subject, I hope to be able, without trespassing upon the 
superior claims of others, to have that opportunity. 

We have been tokl, and told emphatically, that things cannot re- 
main as they are ; that the powers now vested in and exercised by 
the secretary of the treasury, are too broad, and that legislative aid 
is required. If I have not misunderstood the import of remarks, it 
has also been told to us that such aid will be withheld. To this, I, 
for the present, only answer, that things are now, in this respect, 
precisely as they were before the incorporation of the present bank ; 
that the same powers which the secretary of the treasury then had, 
he has still ; that by the change of the deposits from the Bank of 
the United States, the executive department of the Government has 
been restored to the control over the places for the safe-keeping of 
the public moneys, which it had by law before these moneys were 
deposited with that institution : and that all the laws formerly ex- 
isting upon the subject are now in full force and wholly unaltered, 
the only effect of the provision in the charter of the bank being to 
suspend their operation, until the secretary of the treasury should 
order and direct that the deposits be made elsewhere than in the 
vaults of that bank. I further state, as my opinion of the law, that 
by the act of the secretarj'- of the treasury ordering a change of the 
deposits, and by that act only, the full power of Congress over the 
whole subject, has been restored. 

If, then, the powers of the secretary are too broad, as the law now 
stands, it is the duty of Congress to restrict them ; while, if the 
powers of the executive branch of the Government are not now fully 
adequate to the making and executing of all needful orders, rules, 
and regulations, for the safe-keeping and convenient management 
of the pubhc moneys, it is equally tlie duty of Congress to legislate 
further upon the subject. And whether Congress do or do not legis- 
late in either case, is a matter wholly between its members and 
their constituents, for which the secretary of the treasury is in no 
■\ way responsible. 

But, Mr. President, while I am prepared to give to this effort of 
the Government, to make the state banks our fiscal agent for the 
safe-keeping and convenient disbursement of the public moneys, a 
full support and a fair experiment, any effort, come from what 
quarter it may, to return to a hard-money currency, so far as that 
can be done by the operations of the Federal Government, and con- 
sistently with the substantial interests of the country, shall receive 



THE RExMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITS. 277 

from me a cordial and sincere support ; and no one would more 
heartily rejoice than myself, to meet with propositions which would 
render such an effort in any degree practicable. 

Still are we told by the senator from Massachusetts, that things 
cannot remain as they are ; that imless something, which, accord- 
ing to his views of the subject, would afford relief, be done, the pres- 
sure, the distress, and the agitation will continue. I have already 
stated the source from which, and from which alone, in my judg- 
ment, the present pressure proceeds. I have stated, also, without 
reserve, the object which is, in my opinion, intended to be accom- 
plished by it. Of the correctness of my conclusions, the Senate and 
the country must judge. If they are, as I believe them to be, well- 
founded, it is undoubtedly in the power of the bank to continue the 
pressure, and consequently the agitation of the public mind, to some 
e.xtent, so long as it shall think it to be for its interest, and not in- 
compatible with its safety to do so. It is not for me to speak as 
with a knowledge of its intentions in this respect, and the senator 
from Massachusetts disclaims all information upon the point. I 
can, therefore, only state my opinion ; and it is, that the bank has 
not entered upon this bold measure without the deepest considera- 
tion, and that it will not abandon it, the design not being accom- 
plished, but upon the most stern necessity. 

Yet, Mr. President, I trust in God that that necessity will soon, 
very soon, be made manifest, by the attitude which the nation will 
assume towards this daring and dangerous institution. The glo- 
rious American Revolution was but resistance to moneyed power — 
yes, sir, to the exercise of a moneyed power, without the consent, 
and beyond the reach, of the people of this country. To this our 
fathers opposed a stern and uncompromising resistance. Appeals 
were made to their fears. Distresses in their pecuniary affairs were 
pictured to them in colors to have deterred any but the pure spirit 
of patriotism and love of liberty which led them forward. Then 
the pictures were not imaginary but real ; the distresses were not 
fancy but fact. The country was not then strong, and rich, and 
prosperous, but weak, and poor, and disheartened : and still their 
march was onward. They armed tliemselves upon the side of their 
countr}', and stood by their Government ; and when their hard and 
perilous se^^•ices were paid in paper, worth a fortietli or sixtieth part 
of its nominal value, the representative of the dollar was the dollar 
to them, for it gave liberty to the people, and freed thern from the 



278 SPEECH RELATIVE TO 

rule of avarice. And have W3, their immediate descendants, so 
soon lost their noble spirit ? Are we to fold our arms and obey the 
dictates of a moneyed power, not removed from our soil, and wielded 
by stronger hands, but taking root among us : a power spoken into 
existence by our breath, and dependent upon that breath for life and 
being ? Are our fears, our avarice, our seltish and base passions 
to be appealed to, and to compel us to re-create this power, wnen 
we are told that the circulation of the country is in its hands ? Tnat 
the institutions established by all the independent states of the con- 
federacy are subject to its control, and exist only by its clemency ? 
When v/e see it setting itself up against the Government and vaunt- 
ino- its power ? throwing from its doors our representatives placed 
at its board, and pronouncing them unskilful, ungenteel, or incor- 
rigible ? Nay, Mr. President, when it lays upon our tables in this 
chamber, its annunciation to the public, classing the President of 
the United States with counterfeiters and felons, and declaring, that 
as kindred subjects, both should receive like treatment at its hands ? 
I say, sir, are we to be driven by our fears to recharter such an in- 
stitution, with such evidences of its power, and of its disposition to 
use that power, lying before us authenticated by the bank itself? 
Are we to do this after the question has been referred to the people 
of the country, fully argued before them, and their decision pro- 
nounced against the bank, and in favor of the President, by a ma- 
jority such as has never before in this Government marked the re- 
sult of a contest at the ballot boxes ? 

Gentlemen talk of revolutions in progress. When this action 
shall take place in the American Congress, then indeed will a rev- 
olution have been accomplished ; — then will your constitution have 
been yielded up to fear and favor, and your legislation be the sic 
volo, sic jubso, of a bank. But, Mr. President, I do not distress 
myself with any such forebodings. I know the crisis will be trying, 
and I know too, that the spirit and patriotism of the people will be 
equal to the trial. As I read the indications of public opinion, I see 
clearly that the true question is understood by the country, and that 
it is assumingr n,n attitude towards the bank which the occasion calls 
for. Be assured, sir, whatever nice distinctions may be drawn here 
as to the share of influence, which expressions of the popular will 
upon such a subject are entitled to from us, it is possible for that 
Vi^iil to assume a constitutional shape which the Senate cannot mis- 
understand, and understanding, will not unwisely resist. The 



THE REMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITS. 279 

country, Mr. President, has approved of the course of the executive, 
in his attempts to reh'eve us from the corrupt and corrupting power 
and influence of a national bank, and it will sustain him in the ex- 
periment now m.aking to substitute the state institutions for such a 
fiscal agent. I have the fullest confidence in the ultimate and com- 
plete success of the trial ; but should it not prove satisfactory to the 
country, it v/ill then be time enough to resort to the conceded powers 
of Congress, or to ask from the people what, until every other ex- 
periment be fairly and fully tried, they will never grant, the power 
to establish a National Bank. 



SPEECH 



J 



RELATIVE TO THE REMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITS FROM THE BANK 
OF THE UNITED STATES, THE SPECIAL ORDER BEING THE RE- 
PORT OF THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY, ASSIGN- 
ING HIS REASONS FOR SUCH REMOVAL, AND THE 
TWO RESOLUTIONS OF MR. CLAY. 

[Delivered in the United States Senate, March 26th, 1834.] 

Mr. President : 

I rise with unfeigned reluctance to address the Senate. The de- 
bate has been SO long protracted, and has been so full and able upon 
all the points involved in the discussion, that I feel fully conscious 
I can give no light, and add no interest, to what has been already- 
advanced. I would decline troubling the Senate at all, at this late 
stage of the debate, were it not that I consider the first resolution as 
particularly exceptionable, in every sense in which I have been able 
to view it. I had intended, at an early period of the debate, to offer 
my views at large upon the whole subject, and I had made some 
preparations to fulfil that intention ; but die progress of the discus- 
sion induced me to abandon position after position which it had been 
my purpose to occupy, in consequence of the full and able views 
given of them by others, until I have brought myself to the conclu- 
sion, to confine my remark^ wholly to the first of the resolutions 
offered by the senator from Kentucky. I came to the conclusion 
definitely, after the very able argument of my honorable colleague 
[Mr. Tallmadge], recently made to the Senate, upon all the grounds 
covered by the second resolution, and generally embracing all the 
reasons of the secretary of the treasury. I can add nothing more 
to that argument, and any attempt on my part to do so, would be 
more likely to weaken the positions which have been so well de- 
fended, than to secure the defences, already, in my judgment, suf- 
ficiently impregnable. I may also say, that I do not expect to ad- 
vance anjnhing in relation to the first resolution, which has not be- 



MR. clay's resolutions. 281 

fore, in the course of the debate, been suggested ; but I do hope to 
offer a more detailed and connected argument upon that single point, 
than has been offered by those who have preceded me, and who 
have embraced the whole scope of the special order. I owe it to 
myself, however, as well as to the Senate, to say that it is my in- 
tention to confine myself to a strict legal argument, of the most dry 
and uninteresting character, and that I can neither expect, nor ask, 
that attention which I might hope, were the subject less exliausted, 
and the topics less technical. 

The resolution is in the followino- words : — 

" Resolved, That by dismissing the late secretary of the treasury, 
because he could not, contrary to his sense of his own duty, remove 
the money of the United States, in deposit with the Bank of the Uni- 
ted States and its branches, in conformity with the President's opin- 
ion, and by appointing his successor to effect such removal, which 
has been done, the President has assumed the exercise of a power 
over the treasury of the United States, not granted by the consti- 
tution and laws, and dangerous to the liberties of the people." 

This is the resolution, and I consider it, in the broadest sense, ju- 
dicial, so far as the action of the Senate upon it is concerned. I 
therefore, preliminarily, lay down the following proposition, which 
I believe I shall be able to sustain, not only from the language and 
import of the resolution itself, but from an examination of tlie grounds 
upon v/hicli its friends seek to justify the action by this body. My 
proposition is : — 

That the resolution contains matter of impeachment, and matter 
of impeachment only, and therefore that it is unconstitutional for 
the Senate to act upon it, other than judicially, and upon an impeach- 
ment sent up from the House of Representatives. 

Art. 1, sec. 2, clause 5, of the Constitution of the United States, 
reads as follows : — 

" The House of Representatives shall choose their speaker, and 
other officers, and shall have the sole power of impeachment.^'' 

Sec. 3, clause 6, of the same article, says : — 

" The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments." 

Here then, sir, are the constitutional divisions of power, between 
the two branches of Congress, as to impeachments. 

Does the resolution under consideration contain impeachable mat- 
ter, so as to call upon these powers to enable us properly to act 
upon it ? 



282 SPEECH ON 

It charofes that '• the President has assumed the exercise of a 
power over the treasury of the United States, not granted to him hy 
the constitution and laws, and dangarous to the Hberties of the 
people ;" and that he has " assumed the exercise of that power, by 
dismissing the late secretary of the treasury, because he would not, 
contrary to his sense of his own duty, remove the monay of the 
United States, in deposit with the Bank of the United States, and its 
branches, in conformity with the President's opinion ; and by ap- 
pointing his successor to effect such removal, which has been done." 

The first of these charges, if well made, must be a high crime. 
An assumption of a power over the public treasury, not granted by 
the constitution and laws, and dangerous to the liberties of the 
people, can surely be nothing less. 

The second, to wit, the removal of a secretary of the treasury, 
for an insufficient cause, and under the influence of an improper 
motive, viz., to acquire a power over the public treasury not granted 
by the constitution and la;vs, and dangerous to the liberties of the 
people, if sustained as charged, cannot be less than a high misde- 
meanor. 

Art. 2, sec 4, of the Constitution, says : — 

" The President, Vice President, and all civil officers of the Uni- 
ted States, shall be removed from office, on impeachment for, and 
conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and inisdemsan- 
ors." 

The advocates for the resolution do not deny that it contains im- 
peachable matter, but they justify the action of the Senate, as they 
say, '• legislatively" upon it. 

The honorable senator from Kentucky [Mr. Clay], says, "The 
Senate ought to act upon the resolution, to protect its legislative 
powers." 

It is not pretended that the legislative powers of the Senate have 
been assailed. The resolution does not assume to recite an act of 
infringement upon the legislative powers of the S?nate, It assumes 
executive encroachments, and executive encroachments only, and 
proceeds at once to pronounce judgment upon them. It proposes 
no legislative act, nor does it assert any legislative power. If, then, 
the Senate has the riglit to protect its legislative powers, as it no 
doubt has, the resolution neither asserts the right contended for, nor 
mentions the violation against which protection is required, nor does 
it propose any sort of protection. It does not therefore come, in any 



MR. clay's resolutions. § 283 

sense, within this principle of the senator, and the action of the 
Senate upon it Inids no justification in his remark. 1 pass to the 
senator's second ground : — 

'' The Senate may properly act upon the resolution, because the 
President may perform an unconstitutional act, without the quo ani- 
mo, the intention to violate the constitution." 

It is impossible to consider this opinion in connection with the ob- 
jection to which it is intended to be an answer, without taking it as 
an admission that the action of the Senate upon the resolution is 
judicial. The quo animo cf the President, or of any other officer 
of the Government, as to any act performed by them, bearing upon 
their constitutional powers, cannot possibly be material to the Sen- 
ate in its legislative character. If legislation should be required, 
growing out of any such act, it would legislate to provide a remedy 
for the wrong committed, or to prevent a repetition of the act ; and 
in either case, the quo animo of the officer performing the act com- 
plained of, could not be material. The wrong would not be less, 
or the remedy different, whether the action should proceed from de- 
sio-n or ignorance. If, therefore, the determination of the existence 
or not of the quo animo in the act recited in the resolution, be ma- 
terial to the question whether the Senate can, or cannot, properly 
act upon it legislatively, that fact proves the resolution to be judi- 
cial, until that point shall be judicially decided. And as no object 
of legislation is either proposed, or to be accomphshed by the pas- 
sage of the resolution, any action of the Senate upon it, going to 
decide this preliminary question of the quo animo, is clearly a judi- 
cial action, and therefore an assumption of power, in violation of 
the constitut'onal powers of the body. 

The position concedes that if the quo animo be assumed, the 
question would be judicial, while the resolution, the quo animo being 
added, vv^ould, according to a farther admission by the ground taken, 
be not only an impeachment, but a judgment of condemnation upon 
the charges made. It follows then, irre sistibly, that the action of 
the Senate legislatively, would be a judgment of acquittal as to the 
quo animo, and that judgment is as much judicial as a judgment of 
condemnation could be. Again, therefore, I repeat, that the Senate 
cannot act upon this resolution constitutionally, in any other than 
its capacity of the high court for the trial of impeachments. The 
senator [Mr. Clay] says thirdly : — 

" The Senate may act upon the resolution, because tlie President 



284 SPEECH ON 

may not be impeached, even if the act and the quo animo are both 
found against him." 

Here we meet a most singular reason for action. The court will 
condemn the accused, because the grand jury may not find a bill 
against him : the Senate of the United States, will convict the Pres- 
ident of the United States, of a flagrant violation of the constitution 
of the United States, because the House of Representatives, those 
who hold in their hands the voice of the people of the country, may 
not impeach him. But again, the fourth reason for action is still 
more singular. 

The action of the Senate is proper, " because a call upon the 
Senate to act judicially in this instance, depends upon a contin- 
gency, which no one now expects will happen." 

This tlirows the last proposition into the shade. Here the sen- 
tence of condemnation is to be pronounced, because no arm expects 
the grand inquest will even indict. The Senate of the United 
States, are to convict the President of the United States, of a fla- 
grant violation of the constitution, because " no one expects" the 
House of Representatives will impeach him. Strange causes, in- 
deed, for performing judicial duties, in a legislative character. 

The senator []Mr. Clay] has told us of the " bleeding constitu- 
tion of his country ;" and is this the way in which the wounds of 
that instrument are to be healed ? Is an alleged violation of the 
constitution by the executive, to be cured by a palpable violation of 
that instrument by the Senate ? Will the Senate sanction such 
reasons for acting upon such a resolution ? 

But the senator from New Jersey [Mr. Southard] , sanctions the 
same idea by the following language :— 

" It is objected to the first resolution, that the Senate ought not to 
act upon it, because this body may be called upon to act upon the 
same matter, brought before it in the shape of an impeachment. 
An impeachment of whom ?" says the senator. " An impeachment 
of Andrew Jackson? An impeachment of Roger B. Taney? 
Look at the history of the country. Did any one ever hear of the 
impeachment of those who stand in an overwhelming majority ? 
No, sir, such persons have a shield impenetrable to the Senate." . 

Here we have the principle fully developed. The Senate is to 
proceed to judgment of condemnation against the President, because 
the representatives of the people will not impeach him ; because 
an "overwhelmmg majority" of the people themselves, whom they 



MR. CLAY*S RESOLUTIONS. 285 

represent, are in favor of the President, and approve of his con- 
duct. 

If any cause can be more sure than another, to render the Sen- 
ate odious to the people of the country, it will be attempts here to 
assume the duties of the immediate representatives of the people ; 
to constitute ourselves the accusers as well as the judges ; and, hav- 
ing done this, to resist the known and expressed will of the people, 
in bringing down upon the head of some too popular sen^ant, the 
tremendous judicial sentence of this body, without the form of a 
trial, or even the exhibition of a constitutional accusation. 

Do these sentiments come from men who have been raised high 
in the honors of the republic ? Who have themselves been coun- 
sellors of a former President ? And at a time, too, when a majority 
of tliis body, holding this judicial power over their acts, was politi- 
cally opposed to the administration with which they were thus con- 
nected ? Sir, I venture the assertion, that they never found that ma- 
jority attempting thus to condemn them, or their principal, without a 
trial ; and I further venture to say, that that majority, so acting, were 
sustained by the people. 

I assume, in the second place, 

That the resolution, if such as the Senate could properly enter- 
tain, is irrelevant to the subject before this body, and in relation to 
which it purports to have been introduced, and therefore, should not 
be entertained. 

The special order before the Senate, is the report of the secretary 
of the treasury, assigning his reasons for the change of the depos- 
its of the public moneys of the United States, from the Bank of the 
United States. 

It has no reference whatever to the President, the late secretary 
of the treasury, his appointment or removal, or to the appointment of 
the present secretary. It relates solely to a single official act of his 
own, the change of the deposits ; and merely assigns, in obedience 
to an express requirement of law, his reasons for that act. It says 
nothing of his predecessor in office, of what he would or would not 
do, or what was or was not his sense of duty. It makes no allu- 
sion to him whatever. 

Where, then, is the relevancy of this resolution, to this special 
order ? 

I next assume that the resolution, if within the constitutional ju- 
risdiction of the Senate ; and relevant to the subject of the special 



286 SPEECH ON 

order, is erroneous in both of its conclusions, and in the fact as- 
sumed, upon which the conclusions depend. 

The fact stated is, that the President " assumed the exercise of a 
power over the treasury of the United States," and the sense in 
which the charge is made, is learned from the language of the ad- 
vocates of the resolution. 'The President is said to have taken pos- 
session of the public money ; to have opened the public treasury, 
and taken therefrom its contents ; to have united the sword and 
purse of the country in the same hand ; to have robbed the treas- 
uiy, and taken into his own keeping the money of the people. Now, 
in this sense, I affirm that the President has exercised no power 
whatever, over the treasury of the United States. What acts are 
mentioned as constituting this charge ? 

The resolution recites that the President removed from office the 
late secretary of the treasury. 

One of the earliest debates in the first Congress, convened under 
the present constitution of the United States, was upon the question 
of the power of the President to remove from office, according to 
the provisions of that constitution. The question was decided by 
that Congress in favor of the power, as a part of "the executive 
power" vested in the President by that instrument, and the whole 
practice of the Government, and of every President, from Washing- 
ton to the present incumbent of that high office, has been in confor- 
mity with that decision. The power was decided to exist, and to 
bs derived from the constitution itself. 

It is particularly worthy of remark, that the power to remove the 
secretary of the treasury, occupied a conspicuous place in the debate, 
and furnished a very considerable portion of the argument of the 
speakers on both sides of the question. The decision, therefore, was 
made, after full argument as to the power to remove this very officer. 

The President, then, in the removal of the late secretary of the 
treasury, did not " assume the exercise of a power not granted to 
him by the constitution and laws." 

But a removal of the secretary of the treasury, does not enable 
the President to gain access to the treasury of the United States. 

There is a treasurer, appointed by the President and Senate, who 
keeps the keys of the public treasury. Were the President, there- 
fore, to remove the secretary, he would meet the treasurer, and must 
dispose of him, before he could reach the public treasury. 

This officer is removable by the President, but he has not removed 



MR. clay's resolutions. 287 

him, which fact, of itself, repels the idea that he has attempted to 
"assume the exercise of a power over the pubUc treasury." 

Here might be rested the proof of the falsity of the fact stated 
in the resolution, that the President '• assumed the exercise of a 
power over the public treasury," but it shall be carried one step fur- 
ther. 

It is not even contended that one cent of money was taken from 
the public treasury, b3tween the timo of th-3 removal of the late 
secretary of the treasury, and the appointment of the present in- 
cumbent to that office ; nor is it contended that any change of the 
deposits of money standing to the credit of the treasurer, or any 
other change or order, affecting the public treasury, was made dur- 
ing that interval. 

The advocates for the resolution then admit, that the power exer- 
cised over the public treasury, by the President, was not so exer- 
cised during the vacancy created in that office, by the removal of 
the late secretary. 

The resolution further recites, that the President appointed the 
present secretary in the place of the late secretary removed. 

The constitution says, " the President shall have power to fill 
any vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate, by 
granting commissions, which shall expire at the end of the next 
session." 

The President, then, had power to appoint a secretary of the treas- 
ury in the place of the late secretary, removed, and in this act he 
did not " assume the exercise of a pcwei-," " not granted to him by 
the constitution and laws." 

When, then, has the President " assumed the exercise of a power 
over the treasury of the United States not granted to him by the 
constitution and laws ?" It has not been contended that, since the 
appointment of the new secretary, any money has been drawn from 
tlia public treasury, but by his direction. His report before the 
Senate shows that the deposits were changed by his orders, and 
gives to Congress his reasons for the act ; though it should be 
borne constantly in mind, that the change of the deposits took not 
one dollar from the treasury. 

It was, if I may be allowed the expression, the mere change of 
the location of the chest, or the strong box ; it was not the use of 
the treasurer's key ; it was not taking any thing from the treasury, 
or subtracting anything from the amount for which he stood 



288 SPEECH ON 

chargeable to the country. The power was exercised over the place 
for keeping the treasury, not over the money itself. 

The foregoing remarks seem to establish conclusively the follow- 
ing propositions : — 

That the President " assumed the exercise of a power" over the 
late secretary of the treasury, by removing him from office, as he 
had a constitutional right to do. 

That he " assumed the exercise of a power" granted to him in 
terms by the constitution, to appoint, " during the recess of the 
Senate," the present secretary, to fill the vacancy occasioned by 
the removal of the late secretary. 

That he has not " assumed the exercise of a power over the treas- 
ury of the United States," or over the treasurer of the United States, 
of any description whatever. 

That he has not " assumed the exercise" of any power in refer- 
ence to the subject of the resolution, " not granted to him by the 
constitution and laws." I might here safely rest my argument 
upon this first resolution, merely drawing from the foregoing propo- 
sitions the natural coroUar}^ — 

That as the President has only '■ assumed the exercise" of powers 
expressly granted by the constitution, he has not " assumed the ex- 
ercise" of any power " dangerous to the liberties of the people," 
unless the powers granted to him by the constitution of the United 
States, and exercised by the Presidents of the United States, from 
the commencement of the Government under the constitution to the 
present time, are " dangerous to the liberties of the people." 

But I feel bound, from a sense of respect to the gentlemen who 
advocate the resolution, as well as from a disposition to place the 
whole subject in a clear light before my constituents and the coun- 
try, to notice the positions taken upon the other side, from which 
the inference in the resolution is drawn, that the President, in 
changing his secretary, has " assumed the exercise of a power not 
granted to him by the constitution and law^s." 

Neither of the gentlemen [^Messrs. Clay and Southard] have been 
understood as denying the constitutional power of the President to 
remove a secretar}^ of the treasury, but the attempt seems to be to 
prove that the removal of the late secretary was made under cir- 
cumstances to which the power of removal does not extend. 

What are the circiunstances upon which the gentlemen rely to 



MR. CLAY S RESOLUTION'S. 289 

take this case out of the g-eneral power of removal conferred upon 
the President ? I take their own statements. 

There is a law of Congress incorporating the stockholders of the 
Bank of the United States. 

The law directs the deposit of the moneys of the United States 
with the hank ; hut gives to the secretarj^ of the treasury the power 
to change that deposit. 

The President thought the late secretary ought to exercise that 
power, and divert the puhlic moneys from the bank. 

The secretary thought he ought not to exercise the power, and 
refused to do so. 

The President ccnsidered the execution of the law important to tha 
country, and removed the secretary who refused to execute it. 

Here we meet with what has been harshly termed '• the act of 
persecution, usurpation, tyranny, a most flagrant violation of the 
constitution and the laws of the land, an assumption of the exercise 
of a power not granted to him" [the President] '• by the constitution 
and laws, and dangerous to the liberties of the people." 

I propose to look at this state of facts, at the constitution and the 
law, and tlien to test the applicability of these strong denunciations 
ap"ainst the President of the United States made in the Senate of the 
United States. 

The positions assumed to justify the conclusions in favor of the 
resolution and against the President, are 

First. That the removal was made because" the late secretary 
refused to do an act " contraiy to his sense of his own duty." In 
other words, it is called " an act of persecution for opinion's sake." 

What practica^l meaning has this position ? Was ever an officer 
removed where the cause of removal did not exist in a difference of 
opinion between the power of removal and the agent to be removed ? 
where the agent or officer did not refuse to do an act which the re- 
moving power thought he ought to do, or insist upon doing an act 
which the removing power thought he ought not to do ? 

I answer, there is but one possible case in which a removal from 
office can take place, without a cause, in one shape or another, 
growing out of these differences of opinion between the removing 
and removed officer; and as that case must be utter incompetency, 
1 congratulate the advocates of the resolution upon the fact, that 
they are not compelled, in reference to the late secretary, whom they 
so Avarmly eulogize, and towards whom their sympathies are so 

13 



290 SPEECH ON 

kindly extended, to resort to this cause alone for his removal ; hut 
arc able to show that a diff jrence of opinion between him and the 
President, furnishes a probable ground for his loss of office. Re- 
moval, " for opinion's sake," then, is nothing more or less than a 
removal orowino- oat of a difference of opinion between the removing 
power and the officer to be removed. 

The power to remove is admitted ; but the power to remove on 
account of a diffi^renco of opinion between the removing officer and 
the officer to be removed, is denied. 

What is the practical efTjct of this construction of the power of 
removal conferred by the constitution upon the President ? It is, 
that he m:iy remove those who agree with him in opinion ; those 
who are willing and desirous to aid his measures and give efficiency 
to his adniinistradon ; those with whom he can live and act in har- 
mony ; his political and personal friends : but that he cannot re- 
move those who differ with him in opinion ; those who will not carry 
in:o effect the measures of his administration; those who are per- 
sonally and politically hosiile to him. 

I shall presently examine this power, and see if its proper con- 
struction leads to such absurdities. 

SicondUj. The senator from Kentucky [:\Ir. Clay] lays down 
the distinct proposition, that " the secretary of the treasury is not an 
executive officer, nor is the treasury department an executive de- 
partment." 

A sufficient ansv/er, in legal argument, to tliis proposia'on is, that 
the power of removal, conferred upon the President by the consti- 
tution, extends to the removal of the secretary of the treasury, whe- 
ther he be or be not an executive offi.cer, and whether his depart- 
ment be or be not an executive departm^ent ; and this the advocates 
of the resolution admit. The whole proposition, therefore, in its 
application here, goes merely to question the sufficiency of the cause 
of the removal, and not to deny the constitutional or legal power. 
It stands, then, with the proposition just examined, in this respect, 
and will be further replied to when the power of removal shall be 
examined. 

I cannot, however, be understood as admitting the facts assumed 
by this proposition, " that the secretary of the treasury is not an 
executive officer," and that " his department is not an executive 
department." 

1 will not, however, enter in detail into the proofs which show 



MR. clay's resolutions. 291 

that the position, in every sense, is mistaken in fact, as others have 
already fully done this ; but will content myself with tiiking a very 
brief view of the position, as compared with the provisions of the 
constitution alone, wholly without reference to the laws establishing 
and regulating the department. 

The senator from Kentucky [Mr. Clay] read from the President's 
communication to his cabinet, as follows : — 

" Upon him [the President] has been devolved by the constitution 
and the suffrages of the American people, the duty of superintend- 
ing the operations of the executive departments of the Government, 
and seeing that the laws are fait ifully executed." 

When he said, " This I deny I The constitution does not devolve 
these dutii^s upon the ProsiJent. 

"The laws organizing the executive departments, except the 
treasury department, put these departments under the direction of 
the President ; but it is the law, not the constitution, from which ho 
derives his authority." 

V/e will see what the constitution does confer upon the Presi- 
dent in relation to the executive departments. It reads as fol- 
lows : — 

" The executive poioer shall be vested in a President of the United 
States of America." 

Now, as I cannot yield to the force of the comment of the learned 
senator, in another part of his argument, that the provision in the 
bank charter, ■' that the business of the institutfon should be con- 
ducted by a board of t'.ircctors," was not saying " that all the busi- 
ness should be so conducted, I must be permitted to believe that the 
constitution, when it says, "the executive power shall be vested in a 
President of the United States of America," means that all the ex- 
ecutive power, not otherwise expressly granted, shall be so vested, 
and not that a part of it only should pass by that grant, and that the 
residue should be conferred by Congress, to which body as a Con- 
gress, that instrument gives no executive power. 

The only grant of executive power, to be found in the constitu- 
tion, other than that above quoted, is the grant to the Senate in rela- 
tion to apf,ointm-"nts to office ; and as this last grant is defined and 
specific, it ctrtainly cannot extend to an executive supervision over 
the executive departme ts. 

If, then, the treasury department be an executive department, the 
constitution has devolved upon the President the duty of superin- 



292 SPEECH ON 

tending its operations, as it has " vested" in him all the " executive 
power" of the Government except the specific grant to the Senate, 
relating to appointments. 

Is the treasury department an executive department ? The du- 
ties of it are executive. The head of it is appointed as the execu- 
tive officers are ; is made ono of the constitutional advisers of tlie 
executive ; a member of his confidential cabinet ; and is bound to 
give his opinion, when called for, in any matter relating to the ex- 
ecutive Governm3nt — the characteristics of the department, therefore, 
are purely executive. But, if not ex3cuiive, to which of the other 
great departments does it belong ? Tlie constitution has created 
another, cdlied the legislative department. The following is the 
jiroviaion : — 

"Ail legislative powers herein granted, shall be vested in a Con- 
gress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and 
House of Representatives." 

Surely, the treasury department can find no place under this 
grant. Its duties are in no respect legislative. The secretary does 
not receive his appointment from the people, the states, or the legis- 
lature, and he is removable at the pleasure of the President, but not 
otherwise, except upon an impeachment by the House of Represen- 
tatives, and a judgment of condemnation by the Senate. The legis- 
lature cannot remove him. 

The constitution has created a third great department of the Gov- 
ernment, called the judicial department. The following is the pro- 
vision : — 

'•The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one 
supreme court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may 
from time to time ordain and establish." 

The treasury departmont certainly is, in no judicial sense, a 
court, and cannot, therefore, be a judicial department. 

From the constitution itself, then, it appears, that the treasury 
department is an executive department, and cannot belong to cither 
of the other great departments into which that instrument has di- 
vided all the powers of the Government of the United States. 

That Congress has not the power, by the constitution, to establish 
a similar department, and divest it of the executive character given 
to all those departments by the constitutional dis;.ositicn of the gov- 
ernmental powers. 

That the constitution has vested in the President of the United 



MR. CLAY S RESOLUTIONS. 293 

States " the executive power," and by virtue of that grant of power, 
has devolved upon him " the duty of superintending the operations 
of the executive departments of ihe Government." 

I am dischargeJ, therefore, from all necessity of an examination 
of the laws relative to this department, as they surely will be so 
construed as to make them conform to the constitution, unless pro- 
visions shall be found wholly irreconcilable to it, and no such pro- 
visions have been pointed out. 

What then is this supervisory power of the President over tho 
executive departments ? 

The cons'Jiution answers in the following language : — 

" He [the PresiJent] shall take care that the laws be faithfully 
executed." 

In what manner is he to do this ? The senator from Kentucky 
[Mr. Clay] contends, that this clause of the conc^titution only mean? 
" that if resistance to the lav/ be made, the President shall see that 
such resistance be overcome." Tho senator considers the power 
as intimately connected with the power to call out the militia to 
enforce the laws, and as going no farther than to oppose and to 
overcome resistance against the execution of a law. This would 
confound this most important duty of the President with his powers 
and duties arising under the various laws which have been passed 
" to provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the 
Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions;" powers and 
duties strictly military, and derived by the President, not from the 
constitution, but from laws of Congress passed in pursuance of the 
power given to that body by the provision of the constitution above 
recited. 

With proper submission to the views of the honorable senator, I 
think it most clear that the power in question is wholly of a civil 
character, and that the duty imposed pertains exclusively to the 
executive power of the President. It enjoins upon him constant 
vigilance over all the civil affairs of the Government. "He shall 
take care that the laws be faithfully executed." It may be inquired, 
" Suppose he meets with a refusal on the part of the officer to do 
his duty and to execute the laws, how is he to enforce obedience ?" 
I answer — not by calling out the militia upon the officer, but by 
promptly removing him from his office, where that power is in his 
hands, and, where it is not, by laying the facts before the House of 
Representatives, to the end that an impeachment may remove him. 



294 SPEECH ON 

It is unquestionably for this purpose that the wisdom of the conven- 
tion vested " the executive power" in the President ; and this ap- 
parent necessity which induced the decision by the first Congress 
under the ccnslituticn, that the power of removal from office was a 
part of the executive power, and was in the hands of the executive. 

The senator from New Jersey [Mr. Southard] was understood to 
contend, that the cause of the removal, operating upon the mind of 
the President to induce the act, was material to the constitutionality 
or unconstitutionality, legality or ilbgality, of the act of removal. 
Indeed, I am unable to discover ihg force of this argument, as made 
by the senator, and as applicable to the resolution, unless he in- 
tended to give it this dirccticn. The resoluiicn charges, that the 
President has " assumed the exercise of a povrer" " not granted to 
him by the ccnstituticn and laws;"' and the senator expressly ad- 
mitted the power, in some cases, to remove, and uenicd it in the case 
recited in the resolution, upon the ground that the cause cf the re- 
moval was insufficient to justify the act. 

This brings me to an examination of this power of rem.oval. Its 
existence in the President has not only been before shown, but is 
admitted to some extent, by all the advocates of the resolution. 
What, then, is the extent of this power ? 

The power itself was decided, by the first Congress convened 
under the constitution, to exist in, and to be derived from, that in- 
strument, as a necessary part of " the executive power" vested in 
the President. As such it has been exercised by every executive 
under the constitution. 

This instrument imposes no limitation whatever upon the power, 
otlier than the liability to impeachment for any abuse of that, as 
well as of any other power conferred upon the executive, which 
shall am.ount to a high crime or misdemea.nor. The cans- of the 
act of removal, therefore, as the motive whish, in the mind of the 
executive, induced it, is not a constitution ij limit upon the exercise 
of the power, but a mere test of the liability incurred in its exercise 
in any given case. 

It follows, then, that if the President, so far as the constitution is 
concerned, has power to remove the officer for good cause, a remo- 
val of him for an insufficient cause, or from a bad motive, does not 
make the act unconstitutional ; the cause and the motive having re- 
lation only to the liability of the executive to an impeachment, and 
not to tlie validity of tlie act of removal. 



MR. clay's resolutions. 295 

It remains to inquire, whether any law of CongTess has restrict- 
ed this power, or connected its exercise with the cause or motive 
which leads to it. The very remark shows what the answer must 
be, as the power, being derived solely from the constitution, and 
being unlimited by that instrument, any law which should impose 
limits would be unconstitutional. But without resting upon this 
answer, my research has not enabled me to find any such law ; the 
advocates of the resolution have referred to no such law ; and I be- 
lieve I am safe in saying that no law has ever been pac;sed, assum- 
ing to im{)ose restrictions or limitations upon the executive power 
of removal from office of the secretary of the treasury. Any remo- 
val of that officer by the President, therefore, whether made in 
consequence of a difference of opinion between the officers, or from 
whatever cause — whether he be denominated an executive officer, 
or be not — cannot either he unconstitutional or illegal. 

As to this first resolution, then, I now come to the following con- 
clusive and simple propositions : — 

The resolution charo-es the President with having " assumed the 
exercise of a power over the treasury of the United States, not 
granted to him. by the constitution and laws, and dangerous to the 
liberties of the people." 

The charge is based upon the assumed facts, that the late secre- 
tary v/as removed from office, 'v because he would not, contrary to 
his sense of his own duty, remove the money of the United States, 
in deposit with the Bank of the United States and its branches, in con- 
formity with the President's opinion ;" and that his successor, the 
present secretary, was appointed to " effect such removal, which 
has been done." 

The conclusions are : — 

That the President has, by the constitution, the power of removal 
of a secretary of the treasiny, wholly without limitation, he bz'mg 
liable to an impeachment for a criminal exercise of the power. 

That he has, by the constitution, the unlimited power to appoint, 
" during the recess of the Senate," a secretary of the trcasuryi 
whenever that office shall be vacant, he being also liable to impeach- 
ment for a criminal exercise of this power. 

That neither the removal from office of a secretary of the treas- 
ury, nor the appointment of a successor to fill the vacancy, is an 
assumption of " the exercise of a power over the treasury of the 
United States ;" or, if it is, 



296 SPEECH ON 

That it is " the exercise of a power over the treasury of the Uni- 
ted States," vested in the President by the constitution, as necessa- 
rily growing out of his unrestrained power of removal, and his 
equally unrestrained power " to fill any vacancies that may happen 
during the recess of the Senate." 

Here I leave this first resolution, repeating, that any action of the 
Senate upon it, other than in its judicial capacity, will be a flagrant 
violation of the constitution ; that considered legislatively, it is 
wholly irrelevant to the subject before the Senate ; that it is entirely 
erroneous in its assumptions of fact and conclusions of law ; and 
that any acts of the President to Vvhich it alludes, wholly fail to 
justify the harsh terms which have been applied to them by the ad- 
vocates of the resolution. 

But we are still called upon to vote for this resolution; and who, 
Mr. President, is it upon whom the sentence of the Senate is thus 
to be passed without a trial ? The officer, sir, is none other than 
the chief executive officer of the Government — the President of the 
United States ; he whom the people elected to that high station, by 
their free suffrages, against the popularity and power of a compet- 
itor holding the office, and wielding its patronage — a patronage now 
represented to be so immense and irresistible and dangerous ; — and 
wielding it too v/ith the aid of skilful and experienced advisers. It 
is no other than that President, who after four years of official trial 
before the people, was re-elected against another competitor, select- 
ed from among the distinguished of his countrymen, for his supe- 
rior hold upon the popular feeling of the country, and re-elected, 
too, by a vote more decisive than any which had ever before marked 
the result of a long and severe political contest. Such, Mr. Pres- 
ident, is the officer — I had like to have said, — upon his trial. No, 
sir, it is not so — who is not to be allowed a trial ; but who is about 
to receive the condemnatory sentence of the Senate unheard. 

Who, sir, is the man, the citizen of our republic, upon whom we 
are at)out to pronounce our high censures ? Is it Andrew Jackson ? 
Is it that Andrew Jackson, who, in his boyhood, was found in the 
blood-stained fields of the Revolution ? Who camo out from that 
struggle the last living member of liis family ? Who, when the 
sound to arms again called our citizens around the flao- of our coun- 
try, posted himself upon the defenceless frontiers of the South and 
West, and bared his own bosom to the tomahawks and scalping- 
knives, sliarpened for the blood of unprotected women and children ? 



MR. clay's resolutions. 297 

Who turned back from the city of the West, the confident advanc3 
of a ruthless, and until then, unsubdued enomy, and closed the sec- 
ond war against American liberty in a blaz3 of glory, which tiinG 
will not extinguish ? Who, when peace was restored to his be- 
loved country, turned his spear into a pruning hook, and retired to 
his Hermitage, until the spontaneous voice of his fellow-cirizens 
called him forth to receive their highest honors, and to become th3 
guardian of their most sacred trust ? Is this the mm who is to bo 
condemned without a trial ? Wiio is not entitled to the privilege 
allowed him by the constitution of his country ? Sir, this surely 
s!iould not be so. For the very act which saved a city from pillage 
and destruction, and the soil of Lis country from the tread of an 
invading enemy, this individual was accused of a violation of the 
consthution and laws of his country. For the very act w^hich en- 
titled Lim to the proud appellation of " the greatest captain of the 
age," he was convicted and condemned as a criminal. But, Mr. 
President, he was not then denied a trial. Then he was permitted 
to face his accusers, to hear the charges preferred against hi n, to 
offer hi.-i defence, and to be present at his ssnt?nce. In gratitude 
for these privileges of a freeman, he stayed back with his own arm 
the advancing wave of popular indignation, while he bow 3d his 
whitened locks to the sentence of the law, and paid tho penalty im- 
posed upon him for having saved and honored his country. 

Grant to him, I beseech you, Mr. PresiJent; I beseech the Sen- 
ate, grant to that old man the privibge of a triil now. Condemn 
him not unheard, and without the pretence -of a constitutional ac- 
cusation. His rivalships are ended. He asks no more of worldly 
honors. ''H^ has done the state some service." Age has crept 
upon him now, and he approaches the grave. L"!t him enjoy, dur- 
ing the short remainder of hu stay upon earlh, the right secured 
to him by the constitution he has so often and so gallantly defended, 
and, if indeed, he be criminal, let Lis conviction precede his sen- 
tence. 

13* 



SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 

[Delivered in the United States Senate, April 19th and 23rd, 1844.] 

[Mr. McDuFFiE, of South Carolina, intrcdnced in the Senate a 
bill proposing to reduce all duties, under the present tariff law, 
which are above the rate of 20 per cent., to that rate, by gradual 
reductions. That bill was referred to the Committee on Finance, 
and the committee reported the bill back to the Senate, without 
amiendment, with a resolution recommending its indefinite postpone- 
ment, upon die ground that the constitution requires that all such 
bills shall originate in the House of Representatives. 

The question being upon this resclulion. reported by the Com- 
mittee on Finance, Mr. Bagby, of Alabam.a, was entitled to the 
floor, and ho yielded it to Mr. Wright.] 

Mr. President : ]My honorable friend from Alabama is entitled to 
my thanks for thus generously yielding to me the privilege to ad- 
dress the Senate at this time, and I sincerely tender them to him. 

The question in form, is the bill introduced by the honorable sen- 
ator from South Carolina, [Mr. McDufne,] and tJie rcsoluiion of 
the committee proposing its indefinite postponement ; but tlie ques- 
tion in fact, and to which the discussion has been principally di- 
rected, is the modification, in any form, and to any extent, of the 
present tariff law. The latter is the question it is my exclusive 
object and purpose to discuss. 

In reference to the bill referred to, and the resolution of the com- 
mittee proposing a final disposition of it, I will merely remark, that 
the difficulties which have been suggested against originating such 
bills in the Senate, under the provision of the constitution, that '• all 
bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Represcnta- 
fives," have not been obviated in my mind, and I cannot vote for 
the bill of the honorable senator in the shape in which he has pre- 
sented it. 



SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 299 

The question whether any, and what, modifications ought to be 
made to the present tariff law, is one of great importance, of which 
I am not insensible. I believe I feel as deeply as I am capable of 
feeling, its magnitude and delicacy. I have not forgotten that it 
is a question aifecting all the great interests of the country, and, to 
a greater or less extent, the private interests of almost every citizen. 
I am not insensible that it intermixes itself with the poiiiical feel- 
ings, as well as interests, of parties and individuals ; and that, at a 
time like the present, pending a heated };olitical canvass, it cannot 
be kept separated from the prejudices and passions which such a 
canvass is too liable to excite. Still, I feel it to be my duty to dis- 
cuss the question fairly, and candidly, and fully, and that duty I in- 
tend to discharge. I shall endeavor to regard all the interests and 
all the feeling;? to be affected by the discussion ; and to express my 
opinions without reserve, upon all the points I shall raise. That I 
shall avoid errors I dare not to hope ; but that I shall be able to ex- 
press myself in a manner not to give just offonce to any individual, 
or to any interest, and much less to any member of the Senate, I 
do earnesilv hope. 

The manner of the passage of the present tariff law, and the cir- 
cumstances which attended its pass.''.gc through both Houses of 
Congress, and especially through the Senate, gave the fullest as- 
surance to the country that some, at least, Vvho voted for it, did not 
expect it would produce content and quiet in the public mind, or 
that it could be permanent. I was one of those who entertained 
these anticipations in regard to that law, at the time of its passiige, 
and I gave expression to them upon that occasion. After I found 
my efforts, and those of all others, to remedy its manifest difocts, 
must be ineffectual, and that the law must pass as it was, or not at 
all, my con^dusion to vote for it was one of the most reluctant I had 
ever formed as to the discharge of a public duty ; and I could not 
consent to give that vote, without placing upon record the reasons 
for it, and an assurance of my future readiness, whenever the op- 
portunity should present, to correct the errors which I felt convinced 
were prevalent in the provisions of the act. That assurance was 
distinctly given in the remarks to which I refer. It has never 
been forgotten by me, nor have I been permitted to forget it ; for 
my friends, and especially the honorable senator from New Hamp- 
shire, [Mr. Woodbury,] have been careful to remind me of it in the 
course of this debate, for which I thank them. 



300 SPEECH ON THE TARIFF- 

Among the reasons then given for my vote, I beg to bring the 
recollection of the Senate to that of a suspension of the distribution 
of the proceeds of the public lands. That reason alone was most 
powerful with me, and most especially so as connected with the 
legislation of ConoTess of this character. I considered that a meas- 
ure directly calculated, if not intended, to produce ihe necessity lor 
high duties ; and its continuance, even for a few years, appeared to 
me strongly to threaten to make that necessity perpetual, by m.aking 
the repeal or suspension of that law impossible. I should, there- 
fore, have voted for an otherwise very bad law, to accomplish that 
great good. My other reasons were connected wiih the then state 
of the treasury, the condition of the public credit, and our rapidly 
accumulating national debt ; and I will content myself witli a sim- 
ple reference to them, as ihen given. 

In proceeding with this discussion, I am not at liberty to forget 
the character and extent of the various intere-sts it is my duty to 
represent, in legislating upon this subject. The mechanical and 
manufacturing interests of the state of New York are second to 
those in few of the states of the Union, They exist to a large ex- 
tent, and in almost all their varieties, in that state, and are rapidly 
increasing and very imiportant interests. 

The commercial interest of the state is very far greater than the 
same interest in any other of the states, and the enterprise and en- 
ergy engaged in it are certainly second to none. Its health and 
prosperity are highly essential to the well being of all the other 
great interests of the state and country, and they should not fail to 
command the careful attention of every representative from the 
state in Congress. 

The agricultural interest of the state is the basis of all the others, 
and is paramount to all in extent and importance. R?present 
what else he may, every representative from the state, oat of her 
principal city, represents an agricultural interest greater than any 
and all others, and of which not one of them can, or will, be un- 
mindful. The agricultural interest of New York is a less exclusive 
interest than in some of the other states ; but it is second in extent 
of capital, and in importance, to the same interest in few, if any, of 
the states. 

The great interest of labor, as an independent interest, distinct 
and separate from capital, exists as much more extensively in this 
state than any other, as the population of the state exceeds that of 



SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 301 

any other. This interest exists in all the others, per\'ades them all 
equally, and is equally indispensable to them all. So far, therefore, 
as it is to be aftecteJ by this Icgislaiion, it is paramount to them all, 
and presents an equal claim to the w.-.tchful care of every repre- 
sentative, come from what state, or from what part of any state, he 
may. 

Such is a brief view of the great interests addressing themselves 
to m.e when called upon to act upon the subject of the tariff. Such 
are the interests to which I acknowledge direct responsibility fcr 
my action here ; and to assume that I do, or can feel, hostility to- 
wards any one of them, would be to assume, that I do and can en- 
tertain most unnatural feelings, without the slightest possible foun- 
dation for them. In proportion to the existence of these great in- 
terests in the state, I am, so far as I know, equally indebted to all. 
My personal relations towards all have ever been equally amicable ; 
my personal intt^rests are intimately connected with the prosperity 
and success of all ; and if my personal feelings are partial to any 
one, to the prejudice of any other of them, I am entirely unconscious 
of the fact. So far as I know myself, I am equally disposed to do 
justice to every one of Lhese interests, and if the opinions I shall 
cxprc-.rs, and the policy I shall recom.mend, shall prove me mistaken 
in fact, I certainly am not in the intention. There may be points 
of conflict between these great interests, touching our legislation 
of this character ; but I lay it down as a rule which cannot be mis- 
taken, that the law affecting all, which is best for all collectively, 
is the best and wisest law for each interest separately considered ; 
for it is impossible that either can derive permanent benefit from 
that measure which shall inflict permanent injury upon any other. 
Intending to preserve the strictest observance of this rule, I will 
proceed to the discussion. 

And I will premise, that it is the settled and determined policy cf 
the Government and people of this country to raise, by duties upon 
imports, so much revenue as the public treasury shall require, and 
the wants cf the Government, economically adm.inistered, shall de- 
mand, beyond the permanent receipts from the public lands. Tl is, 
I believe, is a position assented to by all, practically speaking. 
There may be individuals who believe it would he more equal, and 
more economical, to raise this revenue by direct taxition upon the 
property of the country, as a theoretical proposition ; but I do net 
suppose that a single individual in the whole country contemplatea 



302 SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 

a change from this indirect, to a system of direct, taxation, to raise 
the revenues nscessary for tlie f-upport of this Government, in a 
time of peace. I certainly contemplate no such change : and I 
should consider any proposition to effect it unwise, inexpedient, and 
wholly inid.n'siible. 

Assuming, therefore, that this portion of our necessary revenues 
are to be raised by imposts, as a permanent and settled system^ I will 
first lay down the rules by which I think those imposts shoul i be 
graduated, and by which I consider the right and the claim to j r^- 
tection, on the part of any interest to be limited, before I examLu 
the present tariff law with reference to modifications. 

Fh'st, then, every duty upon a protected article is necessarily 
protective to some extent. It serves to give an advantage to tl'.e 
producer of the article in this country over the foreign producer, in 
the markets of tliis country ; because the foreign article must pay 
the duty, and the domestic article does not. In this respect, it is 
immaterial whether the producer of the article in the foreign coun- 
try, or the consumer of it in tliis, pay the duty. If the former pay 
it, he sells hi.i article at a less profit, or at a loss, in consequence ; 
while, if the domestic consumer pay the duty, it is because it adds to 
the market value of the article in this country ; and in cither case, 
the domestic producer reaps the advantage. 

Second. Every duty is necessarily prohibitory to some extent. 
Any branch of trade vrholly free from taxation will necessarily be 
entered into more readily, and carried on more extensively than 
when taxed; though light duties will exert a much less proportion- 
ate prohibitory influence than heavy ones. The capital required 
will be increased in about the proportion of the duties assessed, be- 
cause the importer must pay the duties before he can off^ his goods 
in t.he market ; and when the duties are made heavy, the hazards 
of the trade are greatly increased, from the increased outlay of 
capital, and the increased risk of finding consumers at greo.tly en- 
hanced prices. H-;nce the greater proportionate prohibitory action 
of hi.^h duties. 

Third. Every duty is a revenue, as contradistinguished from a 
protective duty, so long as its revenue are paramount to its prohib- 
itory powers. That rate of duty, upon any given article of import, 
which will yi:ld the largest amount of revenue, is the highest rev- 
enue duty which that article will bear, and affords the highest pro- 
tection which can be given to the article, when of domestic produc- 



SPEECH ON THE TARIFF* 303 

tion, consistently with the object of raising revenue. Any less rate 
of duty upon the same article is, of course, within the revenue 
range, and is a revenue duty, though not the highest which may be 
imposed to raiso revenue. Up to that hi^;hest rate, the only way to 
increase the amount of revenue to be derived from the importation 
of the article is to increase the rate of the duty. Within this range, 
the protection afforded is incidental to the revenue power of the 
duty ; and if the revenue bo required, the protection is a necessary 
and unavoidabh incident, and cannot aftbrd just ground of com- 
plaint to any interest. This I consider the true limit of the right 
and claim to protection. 

Fourth. Every duty is a protective, as contradistinguished from 
a revenue duty, when its prohibitory become paramount to its rev- 
enue powers. Raise the duty upon the given ai-ticle above the 
hiofhest revenue rate assumed under the last head, and the importa- 
tions of the article will be either wholly prohibited, or so greatly 
diminishsd, thai the amount of revenue derived will be less, though 
the rate of duty paid is greater. If the prohibition be perfect, there 
will be no revenue. In either of these cases, the protection to the 
domestic article is greater than before supposed ; but it is obtained 
at the sacrifice of revenue, not as incidental to it. The prohibitory 
have become paramount to the revenue powers of the duty. The 
positions are reversed ; and the revenue derived, if any, has become 
a mere incident to the protection aficrded. This is making protec- 
tion the principal, and revenue the incident. It is exDrcising the 
power which the constitution has given to" Congress, "to lay and 
collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises," not to put money in the 
public treasury, but to prohibit imports, and diminish the revenue 
for the sake of the protection afforded. I am compelled to consider 
it a very quejtionable exercise, both in principle and expsdi?ncy, of 
these taxing powers. 

It follows, from these positions, that free trade is the absence of 
duties, and prohibition the destruction of revenue, either of which 
will equally destroy our system of revenue from i;nposts, and fjrce 
a resort to direct taxation ; that a fairly arranged system of revenue 
duties is the medium between these extremes ; and that such a sys- 
tem will necessarily extend to our domestic interests an amount of 
incidental protection equal to the whole amount of the revenue 
required from this source, and still leave a healthful and stable 
foreign trade. 



304 SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 

I hope I shall be understood, and that I have been able to express 
the opinions I entertain upon these points. If so, it will be seen 
that the articbs upon which the requisite amount of revenue should 
be assessed and collected, and the rates of duty to bo imposed upon 
each, within the revenue range, are, in my opinion, entirely within 
the discretion of the Legislature, as a question of principle. Con- 
gress has always allowed the importation cf some articles free of 
duty, and its right to do so has never been questioned. Can there 
be any more question of its right to impose one rate cf duty upon 
one article, and a different rate upon another, keeping within the 
revenue limit in all cases? I think not. The imposition of duties 
to prohibit trade, and defeat revenue, appear to me to be the ground 
cf complaint and question ; not the imposition of duties to raise and 
collect revenue, although more heavy upon one article than an- 
other. 

The power to discriminate, then, as to the articles to be taxed, 
and as to the rate of tax to be imposed upon each, within the range 
of revenue duties, I consider perfect and unquestionable ; and whe- 
ther it should be exercised to favor necessaries at the expense of 
luxuries, the poor at the expense of the rich, to extend incidental 
protection to a domestic interest against the too strong competition 
of a foreign competing interest, or for any similar object, appear to 
me to be questions purely of legislative discretion, and not at all of 
constitutional power. I think this point has been obscured by con- 
founding the limit cf the power with the object of its exercise. I 
do not admit the rightful exercise of the power, beyond the revenue 
limit, for any object ; and within that limit, I admit it for all objects, 
within the reach of legislative discretion. In this way the argu- 
ment is disembarrassed from all the difficulties which have been 
thrown out, about recommending discrimination for one obj:ct, and 
denying the power to exert it for another. It is a power which, 
thus limited, may be greatly abused. It may be exercised against 
necessariei to favor luxuries; against the poor to ftivor the rich ; 
against the protection cf domestic interests to favor foreign pro- 
ducers ; or in any other perverted manner ; but such liability to 
abuse does not disprove the existence of the power. 

A single remark further will bring me to an examination of tho 
practical operations of th^ present law upon the trade and business 
of the country. It is, that, because the rule laid down recognizes 
the highest rates cf duty consistent with revenue to bo the proper 



SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 305 

limit of Isg-islativo discretion in arranging and imposing duties, it 
does not follow that this limit is always to be reached in fixing the 
rates of duty. The state of the public treasury and the wants of 
the Government for proper expenditure, are to control that discre- 
tion within this limit. No more revenue should be drawn from the 
pockets of the people than the economical administration of this 
Government renders indispensable. While the revenue limit can 
never be exceeded to obtain revenue, because duties above that line 
prohibit importations so as to diminish revenue, so duties should 
never be imposed, within that line, for the mere sake of the inci- 
dental protection, when the money to be realized from the tax is not 
required for th- public service. 

With these limitations kept constantly in view, I am now pre- 
pared to enter upon an examination of the present tariff law, in its 
practical action upon the foreign commerce of the country, as 
shown by the custom-house returns made to the treasury depart- 
ment, and the tables of commerce and navigation for some few 
years past. In the statements I propose to mike, and the results I 
have arrived at, I depend mainly upon the documents I fmd ap- 
pended to a report of the committee of ways and means of the 
House of Representatives, made to the House on the 11th of March 
last. This report has been laid upon the tables of the members of 
the Senate, and is therefore within the reach of every senator. I 
first refer them to " Appendix A," v/hich shows that the whole 
amount of the importations, for the year commencing on the first of 
October, 1<S42, and ending on the 30th September, 

18-13, was $89,260,895 

That of these imports, the free articles amounted to 40,470,961 

Leaving the amount of articles paying duty at - 48,789,934 
Of these dutiable goods, those re-exported, with a draw- 
back of the duty, were 4.363,440 

Thus leaving, for the consumption of the country, and 

to pay duty, in fact, but 44,426,494 

The present tariff law was approved by the President on the 30th 
August, 1842 ; so that the year above given is the first and only one 
in which its practical operation upon the trade of the country can 
be tested bv the returns. 

A comparison of this year's business with the total and duti- 



306 SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 

able importations cf the six previous years will give a general view 
of the diminution of our trade under this law. The importations of 
those six years were as follovv^s : — 



Years. 


Free of duty. 


raying duty. 


Total importations 


1837 


$G9,25J,031 


$71,739,186 


$140,989,217 


1838 


(ia.8b'0,005 


52.857.399 


113.717.404 


1839 


76,401.792 


85,690,340 


162,092.132 


1840 


57,196,204 


49.945 315 


107,141.519 


1841 


GG.019,731 


61.926.446 


127,946,177 


1842 


30,627,486 


69.534.601 


100,162,087 



An examination of these figures will show that the entire importa- 
tions of tlie single year, under the present law, are nearly eleven 
milions less than the importations cf 1842, which was very much 
the lowest of the sixyiirs ; and almost seventy-three millions below 
the importations of 1839, the highest of those years. The changes 
in the character of the importations will still more clearly exhibit 
the influence of this law upon the trade. Under the compromise 
act, the class of free articles was very large, and during the whole 
period cf the operation of that law. about one-half of the entire 
importations, as an average, were free of duty. That will be re- 
marked as to five of tlie six years, by a reference to the figures 
given above — the advantage being about seven millions on the side 
cf the free goods. 

On tlie 11th of September, 1841, an act was passed " reluing to 
duties and drawbacks," which imposed a duty of 20 per cent, upon 
all free articles, and all articles then paying a less duty, with cer- 
tain enumerated exceptions, tlie principal of which are tea and 
coffee, raw and undressed hides and skins, coarse wool, gold and 
silver coins and bullion, and the list of articles used in manufac- 
turing. This act v»^as in force as to all the importations of 1842, 
except so far as those importations may have been reached by the 
present law ; and the consequence was, that the amount of free 
articles fell down, from m.ore than an average of 60, to 30 millions; 
and the dutiable articles rose up to 69 millions ; being more than 
the average for the five previous years, although the importations 
of the year were much less than in any one of the five, and very far 
below their average. In this single year the duti.xble articles much 
more than doubled the free. Under the present law the free and 
dutiable articles are very much the same as under the law of 1841, 
except that the coarse wool, and raw and undressed hides and 



a 



SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 307 

skins, aro added to the du'iabh side, at th3 low rite of 5 p3r cent. ; 
and yet the dutiable importations, in the first year of its operation, 
are nearly 21,000,000 less than under the act of 1841, which was 
in force but one year; and the free importations have gone up again 
almost 10,000,000 above what they were under the last-named act, 
and to very nearly the one-half of the entire importations of the 
year. This, too, has taken jdace after the change from the free to 
the dutiable side of full 3,009,000 in the articles of wool and skins. 
When to this astonishing change in the character of the imports, in 
a single year, is added the fact that, of the 40,000,000 of free im- 
ports, in 1843, about 24,000,000 consisted of gold and silver coins 
and buliicn alone, the influence of the law upon the trade cf th^, 
country cannot fail to be seen. The exchanges of commerce have 
been crippled to an unexampled extent, and our produce sent abroad 
for a market must bo sold for what it will bring in coin, as the 
merchant dare not exchange it for merchandise, and encounter cur | 
duties. 

This is a general view of the whole imports ; of the whole foreign 
trade of the country. It affords the ground for a very imperfect 
judgment as to the effect of the law in detail. The rates of duiy 
are very various, and upon some articles cf importance they are 
moderate, and upon some very low. Upon other large classes of 
articles, again, they aro very high and extensively prohibitory. A 
detailed examination, therefore, is necessary to present the action of 
the law in its true light : and to enable me to make that examination 
I have ref3rred to other tables appended to the s:ime report. "Ap- 
pendix B" is a comparative statement of dutiible imports, for the six 
years which have been mentioned, and for the first three-quarters 
of the one year under the present law ; exliibiring the articles as 
named in the present law, and the amount of importations of each 
article, so far as that can be ascertained from the different forms in 
which the import tables have been kept, under the different tariff 
laws. The first column shows the average importations for the 
three years, 1837, 1838, 1839; the second, the same average for 
the three years, 1840, 1841, 1842 ; and the third, the actual imports 
for the three-quarters of a year, commencing on the 1st of October, 
1842, and ending on the 30ih of June, 1843. " Appendix D, No. 2," 
exhibits the actual importations, for the same three-quarters, of each 
article paying ad valorem duties under the present law, the amount 
of duties actually paid upon each article so imported, and the rate 



303 



SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 



per cent, of iho duty fixed in the law, where there is no minimam^ 
and the rate j)3r cent, to which the duty paid amounts, where there 
is a minimum. '■'' Appendix D, No. 3," gives the sam3 information, 
for the same period, as to all the articles imported, paying specific 
duties under the present law. In this table the rates per cent, of 
the duty are calculated at the treasury, from the value of importa- 
tions of each article, and the amounts actually paid in duties ; and 
both these documents are authenticated by the official signature of 
the reo-ister of the treasurv. To these three tables reference is to 
be had for the data upon which the following particular statements 

are based. 

From the 1st of October, 1842, to the 30th of June, 1843, being 
the first three-quarters of one year of the operation of the present 
tariff law, the importations of wool, costing more than seven cents 
per pound, were valued at 851.695; and the amount of duties paid 
upon that sum was $21,941 88, b3ing at the rate of 40.11 per cent. 
The average value of the importations of this same description of 
wool, for the three years, 1837, 1838, and 1839, was ^-301 ,087 ; and 
for the three years, 1840, 1841, and 1842, $1,004,312. This is 
equal to an average, for the six years, of $932,699 per year ; while 
the $54,695, for three-quarters of the year, under the present law, 
i3 only equal to the rate of $72,927 per year ; showing a falling 
off of the importations, compared with the average of the six previ- 
ous years, of more than 91 per cent. 

The value of the imports of cloths, cassimeres, and other woollen 
goods paying a duty of 40 per cent., for the same three-quarters of 
a year, was $1,472,381, upon which there was paid in duties the 
sum of $588,952 40. The average value of the importations of 
these same goods, for the six years before named, was $5,613,920 
per year. The average importations for one year, under the pres- 
ent law, at the rat? of the three-quarters given, was $1,983,175, 
showing a falling off in this importation, as compared with the six 
years, of 65 per cent. 

The whole importations of the manufactures of cotton, for th; 
same three-quarters of a year, were valued at $2,958,796. The 
nominal duty, in the law, upon all these goods, is 30 per cent. ; but 
the minimums, or artificial valuations, which the law fixes upon 
various portions of them, makes the actual duties paid vary from 30 
to 70 per c:nt., and raises the average upon the whole to more than 
38 per cent. Still the tables of importation, if carefully examined, 



SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 309 

will prove beyond question that larg3 classes of the cheaper cottons 
are entirely proliib!t:d by the opera. ion of ih3se minbnums. Thus, 
every yard of printed or colored colton cloth, cost what it may, is to be 
valued at 30 cents per square yard, provided it cost less than that 
sum, and is to pay the duty of 30 per cent, upon that valuation ; while 
all know that it is almost difficult, at this day, to find, in a country 
store, a yard of cotton calico of so high a price as 30 cents, while 
much is retailed for 10 and 12 and 15 cents. I will refer senators 
to pag3s 72, 73, 74, of this report of the committee of ways and 
means of t!ie House, for a statement of the rates of duty upon the 
whole range of cotton manufactures, calculated upon the English 
prices, where they will find, if the importations could be made, that 
the duties would range from 30 to 162 per cent. The average im- 
portations of the manufactures of cotton, for the six years named, 
was in value ^10,047,099 per year; and the average per year, un- 
der the present law, calculated from the three-quarters above given, 
is but $3,945,061 — being 60 per cent, less than the rate of impor- 
tations for the six years. 

Worsted stuff goods, worsted yarns, mits, gloves, and the like, 
were free of duty under the compromise act ; and a duty of 20 per 
cent, was imposed by the act of 1841. By the present law, that 
duty is raised to 30 per cent. This is a class of goods manufac- 
tured to a very limited extent in this country ; and the duty, upon 
every principle, should be a revenue duty only. The average im- 
portations, for the six years, were valued at ^4,581,587. The 
average per year, under the present law, calculated from the three- 
quarters, is $608,088 — showing a falling off, in comparison with 
the six years, of 83 per cent. 

Silks were free under the compromise act, and paid a duty of 20 
per cent, under the act of 1841. By the present law, the duties are 
mostly specific, and levied upon the pound weight, but differing 
somewhat upon different descriptions of goods. These duties, cal- 
culated ad valorem, range from 16 to 65 per cent. ; while the ad 
valorem duties imposed by the law vary from 20 to 40 per cent. 
The actual average duties paid upon the importations of the three- 
quarters, of silks paying specific duties, was 32 per cent. ; and of 
silks paying ad xalorzm duties, 26 per cent. The average value of 
the importations of all silks, for the six years, was $15,247,330 por 
year, and the average per year of the same importations, under the 
present law, calculated from the three-quarters, is $3,622,347 — 



310 SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 

bsing 76 per cent. Isss than the rate for the six years. Upon these 
goods, too, the specific duties have the effect to impose the highest 
tax upon the cheapest and most common article. A plain, iirm, 
black silk, such as is most usually worn by those who wear silks 
in the country, will weigh much more than a fine, rich, figured 
French silk, such as is worn by the more wealthy in the cities ; the 
cost of the former will be about half that of tlie latter ; and yet the 
pound weight of each pay the same duty, miking the rate, upon 
the common article, from 40 to 50 per cent., and upon the rich ar- 
ticle from 20 to 25 per cent.~just about half. Here, too, there is 
no manufacture to protect, and no apology for any other than re- 
venue duties. 

Upon carpets, the duty is also specific, being levied upon the 
square yard ; and the rates ad valorem^ calculated upon the actual 
importations, range from 28 to 87 per cent. Although the amount 
of duty varies upon various descriptions of carpeting, yet the heavy 
rates fall upon the common and cheap goods, and are almost en- 
tirely prohibitcry of them. The whole importations, for the three 
quarters, were valued at but SIS 1 58 10? and of this amount ^150,- 
948 was Brussels carpeting, a description much more expensive 
than t!iat in most common and extensive use. Of the remaining 
$30,000, Si 7,093 v/as an importation of 7,372 yards of Wilton 
carpeiing, the foreign cost being about $2 50 per yard, and the rate 
of duty but 28 per cent. ; while upon the Brussels, it was 42 ; and 
upon the treble ingrained, a much more common article, 87 per 
cent. The rate of diminution in the importations of carpeting, dur- 
ing the one year, under the present law, compared with the six 
previous years, is 41 per cent. 

Cotton bagging is another article upon which heavy specific du- 
ties are imposed, averaging aboui 53 per cent, ad valorem. The 
average value of the imports, for the six years, was $379,718 ; and 
for the one year, under the present law, calculated from the actual 
imports of the three-quarters, $141,755 — being a falling off of 62 
per cent. 

The duties upon glass ware, and window glass, are also speci- 
fic ; the former upon the found weight, and the latter upcn the su- 
perficial measure. The rates ad valorem, upon the actual importa- 
tions of glass ware, ranged from 29 to 186 per cent. ; upon window 
glass, from 62 to 243 per cent. ; and upon vials and bottles from 1 1 
lo 165 per cent. The value of the whole importation of crown win- 



SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 311 

dow glass was but ^310; and upon that were actually paid $388 
75 of diuies — being 222 per cent, upon the whole. The total value 
of the i.npDrtation-i of glass paying spociiic datiDo, for the three 
quarters of the year, was but $55,214. while the value of the im- 
ports of large glass plates, plates silvered, painted glass, &iz.. pay- 
ing ad xahrzm duties averaging but 32 per cent., were $ol;5Dl. 
The filling ofl' in the importa.ion of glass of all descriptions, com- 
paring ihe one year with the six, is 77 per cent. 

The average importations of sugar and sirup of sugar, for the 
six years, was $7.600,449 ; an.l for the one year, under the present 
law, calculated from the actual importations of the three quarters, 
$3,370,824 — exhibiting a falHng oil* in the importations of t.do arti- 
cle of 55 per cent. The duties upon sugars, calculated ad -cjIo- 
rem upon the actual importations, range from 67 to 101 per cent., 
the highest rate being upon loaf and other refined sugars. The 
rate upon sirup of sugar is 161 per cent. : and the provision of the 
law shows that it was intend 3d to be prohibited. The importation 
is merely nominal — but $57 in value in the tliree quarters of a year. 
The rate ad valorem of the duty upon molasses is 51 per c^nt. ; and 
the importations had fallen off 52 per cent., comparing the one year 
with the six. The average value of the importations, for the six 
years, was $3,192,633; and for the one year, under the present 
law, calculated from the actual imports of the three quarters. 
$1,513,693. 

The importo-tions of hemp, cordage, and sail duck, together, for 
the tiiree quariers, amounted to only $695,571, being at the rate of 
$927,428 per year ; while the average importation, per year, of the 
same articles, for the six years, was $1,408,525 — showing a diminu- 
tion of the imports of these articles, under the present law, at the 
rate of 34 per cent. The rates ad vahtrzm of the duties upon hemp 
are less than 32 per cent., and upon duck less than 23 per cent. 
Upon some articles of cordage the rates are enormous. Of unlar- 
red cordage, the value imported, in the three quarters, was $5,793, 
and the duties actually paid amounted to $10,103 71, equal to the 
ad valorem r<Lte of 174 per cent. So, of untarred yarns the value 
imported was $1,028, and the duties actually paid $2,046 9o, equal 
to 199 per cent. Here the prohibition upon these manufactures rests 
most heavily. 

The actual importations of paper, for the three quarters, were 
very trifling, the whole value only amounting to $32,180, being at 



312 SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 

the rate of $42,907 for a whole year. $17,752 Qf this amount was 
paper hangings, paying an ad valorem duty of 35 per cent. ; and the 
residue, $14,428, paid specific duties, ranging from 16 to 97 per 
cent. The duties are speciiic upon ahmost all articles of paper, 
and are entirely prohibitory upon a very large proportion of them, 
thsre being no importations. The average imports of paper of all 
kinds, for the six years, was ,$150,685 — showing a falling oif, as 
compared with the one year, under the present law, of 71 per cent. 

The duties upon leather under the present law are mostly speci- 
fic, and upon the actual importations of the three quarters ranged 
from 1 3 to GO per cent. ; but the whole importations only amounted 
to $237,217, being at the rate of $316,289 per year. The average 
value of th? importations for the six years was $805.349 ; those for 
the one year, under the present law, bsing 60 per cent, less than 
that rate. Here, again, a large share of the duties are entire pro- 
hibitions. 

Raw and undressed hides and skins were free of duty previous to 
the passage of the present law. The average importations for the 
six years were $3,130,435 per year, and for the one year under the 
present law, which imposes a duty of 5 per cent., $3,104,095, being 
a falling off of less than 1 per cent., as compared with the six years. 
This may serve to illustrate the trifling prohibitory power of so low 
a duty. 

I will only weary the patience of the Senate by the examination 
of a single other article — iron ; but its various descriptions, and the 
great variety of its manufactures, will make that examination 
somewhat tedious. 

The rate of duty actually paid upon the importations for the three 
quarters of bar-iron, manufactured by rolling, is 77 per cent. ; and 
the value of the importations is $611,282; being at the rate of 
$681,709 per yrar. Upon hammered bar-iron the rate cf duty is 
32 per cent., and the value of the imports is $327,550 ; being at the 
rate of $436,733 per year. Iron in pigs pays duty at the rate of 
72 per cent., and the importations are valued at $48,251 ; being at 
the rate per year of $64,335. The average value per year for the 
six years, of the importations cf the rolled bar-iron, was $2,252,174; 
of the hammored bar-iron, $1,597,249 ; and of the pig-iron $276,743 ; 
thus exhibiting a diminution of the trade, upon a comparison of the 
six years with the one, of 69 per cent, in the first, 72 per cent, in 
the second, and 76 per cent, in the third article. 



SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 313 

Of the various manufactures of iron paying specific duties, which, 
calculated ad valorem, range from 11 to 137 per cent., the value of 
the whole imports for the three quarters was $282.038 ; equal to a 
rate per year of $376,050, The importations of the various man- 
ufactures of iron papng ad valorem rates of duty ranging from 20 
to 30 per cent., were valued at $773,479 ; both classes of these im- 
ports amounting to $1,055,517 ; being a rate per year of $1,407,356. 
The average importations per year for the six years of all these 
manufactures of iron, was $1,498,830 — showing a diminution of 
the trade in these articles of but 6 per cent. 

I am well aware that these comparisons do not form a perfect 
standard by which to judge of the influence of this law upon the 
foreign trade of the country. The imports of the fourth quarter of 
the last year may have been larger, in proportion, than were those 
of the three first quarters, upon which my calculations have been 
based ; and to that extent the results will vary from the fact. I believe 
the importations of the last quarter of that year were beyond the 
average ; but I have them not, specifying the values of imports of 
each article, so that I can use the information. Then the period 1 
have taken for the comparison, was one of great unsteadiness in 
trade, as the aggregate importations for the several years clearly 
shows. The first of these years, 1837, v/as that in the early part 
of which the great crash came upon the bloated credit system of 
the country, when all the banks suspended specie payment, and 
general disorder prevailed throughout all branches of business. 
Regularity and steadiness are not yet perfectly restored, since those 
extreme revulsions, and it is far beyond my power to tell what in- 
fluence predominated over the trade of the country, for any single 
one of those years. 

Still I think these results might be safely relied upon, as approx- 
imations towards accuracy, and as establishing, beyond the power 
of question, the prohibitory character of this law. As an additional 
mode, however, of testing the same point, I have made a tabular 
comparison between the importations of 1842 and of 1843, taking 
the averages, before used, calculated from the three first quarters, 
as the true importations of the latter year. I prefer to make this 
comparison, because I am not aware of any other visible cause, 
than the legislation of Congress, materially to affect our trade in 
the latter year, which did not exist to the saiiie degree, and in equal 
force, in the former. Both were vears of serious depression in. 

14" 



314 



SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 



business and stagnation of trade ; but I am not aware that, inde- 
pendent of the influence of legislation, the latter was more so than 
the former. At the commencement of the first year, the duties, 
upon all the articles I have examined, except raw and undressed 
hides and skins, were 20 per cent, ad valorem, by the provisions of 
tlie act of 1841 ; or near to, and approaclung that point, under the 
operations of the compromise act ; and at the commencement of the 
second, the present law took effect practically. My table includes 
the articles I have examined above, and no others, and is as follows : 





Importa- 


Importa- 


Diminu- 


e 


Name of Articles. 


tions of 


tion.s of 


tion. 


V 




1842. 


1843. 




S 


Wool, costing more than 7 


« 






cents per lb. - 


«^5,655 


S72,927 


S22,728 


23 


Cloths, &c., paying 40 per 










cent, duty - - _ 


4,-517,864 


1,963,175 


2.554,689 


56 


All cotton manufactures 


9,578,515 


3,945,061 


5,633,454 


58 


Worsteds - - - - 


2,957.977 


770;779 


2,187,198 


73 


Silks 


9,480 .'331 


3.622,347 


5,857.984 


61 


Carpetings - _ . 


292.309 


242.413 


49,896 


17 


Cotton bagging - - - 


421,824 


14i;755 


280.069 


66 


Glass - - - - - 


558,509 


155,740 


402.769 


72 


Sugars - - _ _ 


6,503,563 


3.376,824 


3.126,739 


48 


Molasses . - _ - 


1.942,575 


i;5l3,093 


429,482 


22 


Hemp, cordage, and sail duck 


'949,808 


927,428 


22,380 


2 


Paper - - . _ 


48,067 


42,907 


5,160 


10 


Leather - - . . 


912,585 


316,289 


599,296 


65 


Raw and undressed hides and 










skins . - - . 


4,067,816 


3,104,095 


953,721 


23 


Iron — 










Bars, &c., rolled 


2,053,453 


681,709 


1,371,744 


66 


" not rolled 


1,041,410 


436.733 


604,677 


58 


In pigs - - - - 


295,284 


64.335 


230,913 


78 


All other manufactures of 


3,552,642 


1,407,356 


2,145,286 


60 



Here is the comparison, at one view, between the importations 
for 1842 and 1843, of the articles named, and the names of the 
articles ; and the sums will show that they constitute a heavy pro- 
portion of all the dutiable imports, and the heaviest of what are de- 
nominated the protected articles. I have incorporated with these 
articles worsteds, silks, and raw and undressed hides and skins, for 
a double purpose ; the fir.st two to show the prohibitory action of the 
bill upon articles not of the protected class, and the last to show 



SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 315 

how much better the importations kept up when the duty was very- 
light, and still what an effect was produced upon cheap heavy arti- 
cles by a very hght duty. These articles, compared with some of 
the others, will also show how much more severely heavy duties 
affected the trade in some articles than in others. Take the 
worsteds. The duty under the act of 18-41 was 20 per cent., and 
the present law has raised it to 30 per cent. The trade has fallen 
off, in the single year, 73 per cent. Take the silks. They were 
at 20 per cent, under the act of 1841, and range from 16 to 65 per 
cent. ; but average, upon the actual importations of the three quar- 
ters of 1843, only 32 per cent. Yet the trade has fallen off 61 per 
cent. The duties upon woollens, cottons, iron, sugar, and other of 
the protected articles, are much higher — some of them more than 
double these rates — and yet the trade has fallen off less. 

Still, the rate of diminution of the trade, upon the most of the ar- 
ticles named, whether the comparison with the one or the six years 
be taken, is most marked and severe, and cannot fail to be alarming 
to the commercial interest. 

These comparisons show the futility, as a standard of judgment, 
in reference to the influence of any tariff law, of general averages 
of the duties upon all the dutiable imports, and much more of such 
an average upon all the imports, free and dutiable. Such compar- 
isons are made to assume that the more favorable appearance, the 
more prohibitory shall be the operation of the law under which they 
are made. Duties so high as to be entirely proliibitory are not com- 
prehended at all in such calculations. To ifiustrate, by a strong 
exam.ple, suppose every duty imposed were raised to a rate of per- 
fect prohibition, so that no dutiable article could be imported, and 
that all our foreign imports were free of duty : then such a com- 
parison would show that our commerce was not taxed at all by 
duties, and yet the richest part of it would be destroyed by a pro- 
hibitory tariff. So take, of the articles above named, paper and 
undressed hides, and make an average of them, and it will show a 
very low rate of tax upon the combined importations, because the 
hides pay but 5 per cent, duty, and the import amounts to millions, 
while paper is almost wholly prohibited — the whole imports being 
less than $50,000 per year ; and this, although paying duties vary- 
ing from 16 to 97 per cent., consists of the articles of paper paying 
the lightest rates, and which can, therefore, come in. 

Take the actual importations of the three first quarters of 1843, 



316 SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 

further to illustrate the fallacy of this standard of averages. "Ap- 
pendix D, No. 2," before referred to, is a table of these imports, pay- 
ing ad xahrem duties under the present law. At the foot, the 
amount of imports will be found to be ^16,684,875, the amount of 
duties paid, $4,153,686 13, equal to the average rate of 24.89 per 
cent. ; not a very high rate of duty for many articles. The rate of 
these duties fixed by the law upon the articles named in this table, 
will be found to range from 1 to 50 per cent., these rates being the 
extremes of the ad valorem duties imposed by the law. Yet the 
articles before examined, which pay ad valorem duties, hides and 
skins excepted, comprise $2,277,368 less than half this amount of 
importations, and pay $113,850 51 more than half of the whole 
amount of these duties, averaging the rate of 36.11 per cent. This 
shows that an average of the ad valorem duties, by themselves, fur- 
nishes no standard by which to judge of the weight of the tax upon 
a large portion of the imports embraced in the calculation. 

Take then " Appendix D, No. 3," which is a table of the actual 
importations, paying specific duties ; and the amount of importations 
of this character will be found to be .$12,494,340, the duties actually 
paid upon them $6,300,449 12, and the rate, calculated ad valorem, 
to equal 51.15 per cent, upon the whole. Here is an entire class 
of importations of more than $12,000,000, paying duties to more 
than one half their entire value in our markets, at the time the duty 
is imposed. Yet average all these dutiable imports together, those 
which pay ad valorem, and those which pay specific duties, and 
what will be the result ? The entire amount is $29,179,215, and 
the entire amount of duties paid is $10,544,138 25, being only equal 
to 36.13 per cent., almost exactly the average before given for al- 
most one half of the ad valorem importations. This is an exhibition 
of the average argument upon dutiable importations. 

A single example of its application to the whole importations, free 
as well as dutiable, and I will leave this topic. The dutiable im- 
portations of the three quarters, as just stated above, amount to 
$29,179,215. The free importations, for the same period, amount 
to $35,574,584, as see "Appendix D, No. 1." These sums, to- 
gether, make the whole importations of the three quarters, amount 
to $64,753,799 ; and the whole amount of duties paid upon these 
importations was $10,544,135 25 ; only equal to the rate ad valo- 
rem of \ 6. 2S per cent. Here, then, will the gentlemen say, who 
rely upon these averages as a standard of judgment — here, is all 



SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 317 

the tax upon our trade, 16 per cent. ; and can any reasonable man 
complain of that ? And yet it is shown, upon the face of the very 
papers from which this average calculation is drawn, that one en- 
tire class of importations pay duties to more than half their value, 
that the whole dutiable importations pay an average rate of more 
than 36 per cent. ; and that the trade, in large and important classes 
of articles, has fallen off 50, 60, 70, and more, per cent, in the first 
year's operation of the law ; thus exhibiting a prohibitory power 
much more startling than the high rates of duties paid. 

These comparisons must show, to the satisfaction of every mind, 
that general averages are most deceptive guides, and that averages 
of the rate of duty, even upon any two articles of import, much 
more upon selected classes, may be made to convey the most eiTo- 
neous impressions ; and they must lead to the conclusion, which it 
is my obJ2Ct to establish, that the only useful or truthful compari- 
sons are those which compare the duties paid upon each important 
article of import with the value of the importations of that article. 

I have already alluded to my comparative examinations to show 
that different articles of import will bear very different rates of duty, 
with the same proportionate effect upon trade, and that the same 
rate, applied to all articles of import, will exhibit very different pro- 
hibitory effects, as between the different articles. I recall this al- 
lusion now, for the mere purpose of deducing from it the position 
that discrimination, as to the rates of duty, within the revenue prin- 
ciple, and revenue range of duties, as I have defined them, will be 
found not merely admissible, but absolutely necessary, both for the 
accumulation of revenue, and for the benefit of trade, even if no 
other considerations in favor of discrimina'tion shall be considered. 

I have also alluded to these comparative examinations to show 
that the specific duties of the present law, as a general remark, and 
any system of specific duties so arranged, as well as the principle 
of minimiuns, must make the tax unequal and unjust ; must bear ^ 
the most heavily upon the most common and cheap article falling \ 
under a given duty, and therefore most heavily upon the poor and / 
laboring classes. I am not prepared to say that, with perfect and I 
minute information in all the manufacturing branches, a system of / 
specific duties could not be arranged, which would be just and equal / 
in this sense ; but I am prepared to say that, with the information at 5 
present possessed by myself, and, I believe, by Congress, as a body, f 
or by any one of its conimittees, such a system cannot be proposed i 



f 



/ 



/ 



318 SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 

as will avoid this radical and fatal defect, I say fatal defect ; for 
I hold that to be so, in any legislation upon this subject, which taxes 
labor to the relief of capital, and imposes double the rate of duty 
upon poverty which is exacted from wealth. That is the effect of I 

our specific duties. Take the cotton cloths. He who can pur- * 

chase and wear qualities worth more than 20 or 30 cents by the 
square yard, pays a duty of 30 per cent., while he who must pur- 
chase and wear such qualities as can be purchased from 6 to 10 
cents, must pay three times that duty. I cannot better illustrate 
the practical operation of this description of tax, upon the laboring 
classes, than to borrow the illustration of a witness examined be- 
fore a committee of the British Parliament, I believe, in the year 
1842. The witness said, if the coat of the man of capital was 
taxed too high, he had only to take a coat of an inferior quality, and 
procure it for the same money he had been accustomed to pay for 
his coat, though he w^ould not have one quite so fine, if just as warm. 
Not so with the laborer. He wears the cheapest he can get, under 
any state of the taxation ; and that coat he must have, be the tax 
what it may, because he cannot fall back upon an article of inferior 
quality, or less heavily taxed. This will not apply to our woollens, 
because, though taxed heavily, they are taxed equally, by a uniform 
ad valorem duty ; but it does apply to the coarse cottons, and espe- 
cially to the whole class of fustians, which are the peculiar clothing 
of the laboring classes of the cities and manufacturing districts. 

I will now proceed to examine the influence of these high and 
prohibitory duties upon the great branches of industry of the coun- 
try ; and 

First. Upon manufactures. The manufacturers themselves pray 
for stability in our legislation upon this subject. They say that 
their interests are best promoted by regularity and permanency, and 
that the fluctuations consequent upon changing legislation, are, al- 
most, more injurious, than the protection they receive is beneficial, 
to their employments. This is to say, they want a moderate and 
reasonable system, not a prohibitory one ; for they cannot but know 
that extremes in our rates of duty, be they too high, or too low, 
must themselves compel change. If too high, our commerce must 
be destroyed, and discontents thus engendered, or a surplus of reve- 
nue must be thrown into the public treasury, and a reduction of 
duties thus compelled ; while, if too low, the necessities of that 
treasury will speedily force a change in an upward direction. It 



' 

t 

I 



SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 319 

is the moderate, reasonable, revenue system alone, which can be 
stable. Based upon the wants of the treasury, and wisely and 
justly arranged, with reference to all the great interests of the coun- 
try, there is no reason why, in times of peace, such a system should 
not be stable ; because the wants of that treasury are not subject, 
at such periods, to material changes. The incidental protection af- 
forded, by such a system, to one interest, and the incidental burden \ 
thrown upon another, would form no just subject of complaint to 4 

either. The tax would be necessary for the support of the Gov- | 

ernment, and all would concede to the justice and wisdom of so | 

distributing the taxation, as to make it the least burdensome to all, | 

as one entire whole. Not so when the tax is imposed for protec- | 

tion, and not for revenue. Then it is a burden imposed upon one 
interest, solely for the benefit of another ; the supply of the com- 
mon treasury ceasing to be the regulator of the tax. Under such 
a system, contentment cannot be expected, or even hoped for ; and, 
under a Government resting upon the popular will, constant chan- 
ges, and extreme fluctuations, must and will, be its fruit. 

To the manufacturing interest, then, if stability be the most im- 
portant element in its protection, the revenue arrangement of duties 
presents the most important and desirable system. It alone presents / 
a national, instead of a sectional, basis for the arrangement of our -f 
duties upon imports ; it alone presents an object — the supply of the 
national treasury — equally interesting to all, and equally controlling 
with all ; it alone appeals to the whole public mind for approbation, 
and alone, therefore, can assure the promise of contentment and 
stability. It offers to this interest that degree of protection which 
the collection of revenue, for the support of the common Govern- 
ment, will afford, and leaves the discriminations, within that limit, 
to the common Legislature, but rejects prohibitions, destructive to 
itself, to favor any interest. Is this right ? Is it best for all ? If 
so, is it not the best system for the manufacturing interest itself? 

I have, in the preceding remarks, treated the duty upon imports 
as a tax, and I have intended by the term, a tax upon the consumer, 
in this country, of the article of import upon which the duty is im- 
posed. I have not been unaware that this raises the question, who 
must pay this duty ? This question I do not intend to avoid, nor do 
I intend to discuss it. I have heard too many discussions, upon 
legislation of this sort, not to know that this point presents an inter- 
minable field for argument. That broad field I have not the quali- 



I 



1 



J 



320 SPEECH ON THE TARIFF- 

fications, even if I had the disposition, to enter ; and my object, 
therefore, is rather to make one or two inquiries, to elicit informa- 
tion, than to controvert any position which has been, or which may 
be, taken in the course of the debate. 

I will merely premise that it is claimed, in favor of the protection 

I to the manufacturing interests of this country, which it is supposed 

I to be the duty of Congress to extend, that the foreign producer, and 

not the domestic consumer, will be the real payer of our duty. 

That position I will assume to be the true one, and will illustrate 

my inquiry by taking a supposed case, based upon it. 

I will suppose, for the sake of the illustration, that our trade, for 
I the year 1 842, was perfectly free of all duties upon imports ; that 
A. B.,a merchant of the city of New York, hnported, during that 
year, 50,000 yards of woollen cloths, which cost him, delivered at 
the custom-house in New York, $100,000. He sold these cloths in 
i that market, during that year. In consequence of his low sales, the 

f manufacturers of woollens of this country came to Congress, and 

I prayed a duty upon woollen cloths, to protect their interests ; and 

I Congress, considering their prayer reasonable and proper, and 

I requiring a revenue from this importation, imposed a duty upon 

the hnportation of woollen cloths, of the year 1843, of 25 per cent. 
The same merchant goes to Liverpool, in the year 1843, and tells 
his English manufacturer, " I want the same quantity of cloth 
I which I purchased of you last year ; but I cannot pay you the same 

price for it, because my Government has imposed a duty of 25 per 
cent, upon its value, which I must pay to its custom-house, before I 
can offer the cloths in my market. Last year, you gave me 50,000 
yards for $100,000, and the operation was a fair one in my trade ; 
but, as I must pay, this year, $25,000 in duties upon the same pur- 
chase, I cannot give you but $75,000 for the 50,000 yards." The 
English manufacturer replies, " Very well, sir, we cannot lose your 
market ; and, if your Government has taxed our cloths, as you say, 
we must assume the tax. We must let you have the same 50,000 
yards of cloth for $75,000, this year, which we sold to you last year 
for $100,000." The merchant takes the cloth, pays the $75,000, 
brings it to New York, pays his $25,000 of duties at the custom- 
house there, and offers his cloths in the same market as last year. 
How can he sell ? The cost to him last year was $100,000, paid 
to the foreign manufacturer. The cost, this year, is $75,000 paid 
to the manufacturer, and $25,000 paid to our custom-house, making 



? 



i 



SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 821 

$100,000 in all ; and can he not sell at the same prices as last year ? 
Most certainly he can ; and, in that case, what protection does the 
manufacturer of cloths in this country derive from the duty ? Cer- 
tainly none. If the foreign article can be brought here, and sold 
in our markets as cheap as before the duty, he derives no direct 
benefit from the tax. It is a diminution of the profits of the foreign 
manufacturer, or his loss, if you please ; but the domestic manu- 
facturer takes nothing by it, if the price of his product is not raised 
in our markets, or if the foreign competing product is not excluded. 
And in the supposed case, where the foreign producer pays the duty, 
beyond question neither of these consequences follow from it, as 
direct protection. It will not do, then, as a principle, to say that we 
can impose duties upon the foreign producer to protect our manu- 
facturers, if commerce survives and imports continue ; because the 
case supposed demonstratively shows that, while the foreign pro- 
ducer pays the duty and sends the goods, the cost in our market, 
and to our consumer, is not enhanced, and that the market itself is 
as open to the foreigner as it was before the duty. In these cases 
tliere is no effective protection to the domestic manufacturer. Pro- 
hibition must take place, or the price must be raised in our markets, 
as effects of the duty, or our manufacturer derives no benefit 
from it. 

I will make another illustration upon the other side of the argu- 
ment. Take the same supposed case, except to assume that the 
consumer, in our country, pays the whole duty. Then the New 
York merchant pays the British manufacturer the ^100,000 for his 
cloths, as he did the previous year. In addition to this, he pays tha 
$25,000 duties at the New York custom-house, and places his cloths 
upon his shelves for sale at the cost of $125,000, instead of 
$100,000, as in the last year. The duty has raised the price in our 
markets to its extent, and the merchant finds ready purchasers at 
the enhanced price. Is our manufacturer then protected ? What 
is to hinder that same British manufacturer from sending to New 
York as many cloths as he can sell ? and how does the duty injure 
him ? He is compelled to pay, at our custom-house, the $25,000 of 
duties upon the $100,000 worth of cloths ; but as he sells for 
$125,000, he can do this and still take his $100,000 home with 
him, which was all he asked before the duty. At this price, then, 
there is no protection to the domestic manufacturer ; but as soon 
as the price recedes from the $125,000, for the supposed quality of 

14* 



322 SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 

cloths, he is protected, because the foreigner must pay the $25,000 
of duties, while he pays nothing. If both sell an equal lot of cloths 
for $120,000, as the duty remains the same, the foreigner must pay 
$25,000 of his purchase money to the custom-house for duties, and 
gets but $95,000 for his cloths ; while the domestic manufacturer 
gets the whole $120,000, no tax having been imposed upon his pro- 
duction. The protection is, therefore, an effective protection to him 
of 25 per cent., a part of the tax falling upon the foreign producer, 
and the remainder upon the domestic consumers. 

Upon these illustrations, I \vish to propound the following inqui- 
ries, to be answered by those who have studied this subject more 
deeply than myself. Do they not show^, beyond the power of ques- 
tion, that wliile the foreigner would consent to pay the whole duty, 
his goods could be sold m our markets as cheap as before any duty 
was imposed ; and that, although he might fill our treasury, there 
was no direct protection to tlie domestic manufacturer ? That, 
upon the other side, if the whole duty fell upon the domestic con- 
sumer, and the price of the goods were raised in our markets to the 
extent of the duty, the foreigner could afford to send his goods here, 
pay our duty, and supply our market, as well as when there was no 
duty, thus presenting no effective protection, at this point ? And 
does it not necessarily follow, from these two positions, that the 
effective protection to our manufacturer is only when the payment 
of the duty is divided between the foreign producer and the domestic 
consumer ? and that the larger the share, less than the whole, 
which the market imposes upon the consumer, the better for his 
interest, because that is the government of his price, and the meas- 
ure of his direct protection ? Is it not true, that he has no other 
benefit from that portion of the duty paid by the foreign producer, 
than as it makes our markets less desirable, and less profitable to 
him, because that goes to depress the price here, and only that por- 
tion paid by the consumer is added to it ? 

Is not this a clear illustration of the protection afforded by a 
revenue duty ? and does it not show that such protection is, and 
ran St be, effective, unless so light that the foreigner can afford to 
pay the whole of it, and thus keep exclusive possession of our mar- 
kets ? These appear to me to be unavoidable conclusions from the 
reasoning, while the measure I have prescribed for revenue duties 
seems to be such as would enable the Legislature to keep the com- 
petition open and healthful upon both sides, without granting pro- 



SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 323 

hibition to one, and visiting exclusion upon the other, or giving 
monopoly to either. 

I am aware that human wisdom, without practical experience, 
cannot tell what is the extreme revenue point,^as to any rate of duty, 
much less as to the arrangment of an entire tariff; but I believe an 
approximation can be made from the information already within 
our reach, which may be corrected, after the operations of trade 
shall have pointed out its errors, without causing changes seriously 
detrimental to any interest. My examinations have satisfied me, 
that a range of duties from 25 to 33 per cent, are as high as most 
articles of import will bear, consistently with the revenue principle. 
There may be exceptions, and I think if there are, that iron and 
sugar are the principal articles. These have for a long time, under 
our legislation, borne very heavy duties, and continue to be largely 
imported, and to be very prolific of revenue. Still I think the ex- 
aminations I have made have conclusively shown that the rates of 
duty, under the present lav/, are too prohibitory upon these impor- 
tant articles for revenue duties. The trade in tlie former has fallen 
off, upon an average, about 65 per cent., and in the latter 48 per 
cent., as compared with the year preceding the passage of that law. 
It may not be necessary to bring them down to the rates I have 
named to preserve the revenue principle, but I am satisfied that a 
material reduction is demanded for that purpose. 

The rates I have moved are a quarter and a third of the value of 
the property to be taxed ; and is not that taxation enough, as a gen- 
eral rule, for reasonable protection ? Will not as large a share of 
that tax fall upon the consumers, the whole people of the country, 
as they ought to pay to sustain the manufacturing interest ? | 

Second, upon commerce. The influence of high and prohibitory j 
duties upon this great and essential interest, cannot be otherwise | 
than deeply injurious. They act directly upon trade, and tend to i 
force it from its natural channels, and to diminish its volume and | 
expansion ; and, in that way, to the extent of their influence, strike | 
at the life of commerce. f 

Stability is most essential to healthful commerce, and fluctuations 
interrupt its channels, increase its hazards, and render it fitful and j 
sickly. Very high duties occasion extreme fluctuations, and pro- / 
hibitory duties destroy trade and put an end to commerce. The / 
examinations I have made, and the results I have exhibited, of the f 



324 SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 

influence of the present law upon trade — upon the importations- 
are an exhibition of its influence upon the commercial interest. 

The imposition of all duties operates directly upon trade and com- 
merce, and cannot benefit either. Upon them the tax is more di- 
rectly felt than upon any other interests ; because by them the cap- 
ital must be raised to first meet the payment, and upon them the 
whole influence is concentrated, whoever may eventually refund to 
them the duties paid. Still I do not believe that moderate, reason- 
able, stable duties, such as would be imposed within a wise and just 
revenue arrangement, would be severely oppressive upon the com- 
mercial interest, or would be seriously complained of by it. This 
interest should bear its share of the common burdens, and, fairly 
treated, it is as able, and, I believe, as willing to bear it, as any other 
interest. It has a right, however, to claim exemption from the op- 
pression of duties not required for revenue, and not imposed to col- 
lect it; and from prohibitions, which are its destruction. Under 
any stable, well and wisely arranged revenue system, it can bear 
the burden of collecting the revenue, which the country shall re- 
quire from customs, and can preserve healtli, activity, and vigor ; 
but under a system of prohibitions, and strongly prohibitory duties, 
injurious both to revenue and trade, it must be sickly, fitful, feeble 
and hazardous. Constant changes from extreme to extreme, and 
constant agitation, are no better for commerce — perhaps much worse. 
That system of duties which will produce general contentment with 
all interests, and can therefore be stable, is alone consistent with 
the prosperity of commerce ; and that, I believe, would be found in 
a fair revenue system. 

Third, upon agriculture. The influence of the present tariff' law 
upon the agricultural interest is the most important consideration, 
because it is the basis of all the other interests, and, in our country, 
I more important than all others. The great mass of our people are 
engaged in this interest, are dependent upon it for their subsistence 
and their comforts, and cannot fail to suffer from whatever is inju- 
rious to it. Indeed, none of our other ffreat interests can lono- flour- 
ish under any system from which it materially suffers. Its firm 
prosperity is indispensable to their continued health ; and its lan- 
I guishment must soon be followed by their dechne, in spite of the 
* power of partial legislation. 

The situation of our country most invites, and its trus interests 
most require, the wide extension and firm advancement of this great 



SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 325 

Interest. Our vast unsettled domain is an unproductive waste, 
no matter how naturally fertile the soil, until agricultural labor 
reaches and subdues it, and changes that waste into fruitful fields. 
Hence, the influence of our legislation of this character upon the 
interests of agriculture becomes doubly important, and has a na- 
tional, as well as an individual, consequence, paramount to that 
which attaches to any other of the great interests. 

Under this sense of the importance of the examination I am pros- 
ecuting, I hope the Senate will bear with me, while I make a de- 
tailed and somewhat minute inquiry into the influences of this legis- 
lation upon the products of agriculture. 

I will take first the article of loool. This is an important produc- J 

tion of agriculture, over a very large extent of the country, and a \ 
principal staple in several of the states. The extent and impor- 
tance of the interest, as well as the great wortli of the wool-grow- 
ers as a class of our citizens, entitles this article to all the con- 
sideration and protecting care which Congress can justly give to 
any article, or any interest. / 

How, tlien, is the value of wool in this country, at the present 
time, compared with the value of similar qualities of the same arti- 
cle in other wool-growing countries. I do not refer to South Ame- 
rica, Smyrna, and like regions, where the sheep is permitted to range 
uncontrolled and without care, and where the principal value given | 
to the wool is the cost of taking the animal and cutting off* the | 
fleece ; but to England, Spain, Saxony, and other countries, where f 
wool-o-ro wins' is made a business of careful cultivation. I cannot 
answer the question I have asked, as applicable to the present time ; 
but I hold in my hand a volume of testimony, taken before the com- 
mittee on manufacturers of the House of Representatives, during 
the session of Congress of 1827-28, from which it appears that 
wool of the same quality was, then, from 50 to 70 per cent, higher 
in this country than in England, t, 

[Mr. Wright here referred to the evidence, and read from the 
testimony of several witnesses to sustain his assertion.] 

My examinations have established another fact, which is, that 
Spain, Saxony, and all the other wool-growing countries of the 
continent of Europe, export wool to England ; showing that they 
produce the article cheaper than it is produced in England, and can 
afford to sell in the English markets. These importations it has 
not been, at any time, the policy of England to prohibit, and, for the 



326 SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 

benefit of her manufactures, they have usually been permitted en- 
tirely free, or at a very light duty. 

Wool, then, is higher in our markets than in those of any 
other country where the article is cultivated, and where the finer 
and richer qualities are produced. What is now the difference be- 
tween the prices of fine wools in our markets and in those of Eng- 
land, I do not know ; but I do not suppose it is anything like as 
much as the witnesses referred to stated it to be in 1828. Indeed, 
I doubted, at that time, whether the witnesses had not made a high 
estimate of that difference, because it appeared to me that importa- 
tions would have been greater if the difference in price had remained, 
for any considerable period, as great as they supposed it to be. 

Be that as it may, my object in making these references, and 
stating these facts, is to inquire whether any senator supposes we 
can, by our legislation, maintain wool at a valuation in this coun- 
try from 60 to 70 per cent, above that of all other wool-growing 
countries ? and whether any senator believes we ought to do that, 
if we can do it ? I do not think we should do this, if we could ; be- 
cause, if we give wool thai artificial value above the markets of the 
world, we must give the same increased value to woollen clothes 
and other manufactures of wool, or otherwise we shall make the 
i destruction of its manufacture in the country certain ; and there 
I will be no market, and no price for our wool but the exporting 
i price ; and if we must add from 50 to 70 per cent, to the cost of all 
j the manufactures of wool, beyond what they might be purchased 
3 for abroad, merely to keep the price of wool in this country up to 
this high mark, I think the tax will be too heavy for the object ; 
j because all must wear woollen goods, while few, in the comparison, 
will grow wool. I do not, however, think we could accomplish this 
object, if we should try to do it. There is no portion of the stock of 
the farmer which can be so easily and so rapidly increased as his 
flocks of sheep, and with so little outlay of capital ; and there is 
scarcely an improved county in the whole Union where sheep cannot 
be well and easily grown. If, therefore, we should give to this branch 
of agricultural industry this great advantage, and these exorbitant 
profits, how very soon would domestic competition overstock the 
market, and bring down the price ? It is impossible in a country 
like this, by the power of legislation, or by any other power, to 
maintain any one branch of human industry in the possession and 
enjoyment of such an advantage. It is fortunate that it is so ; or 



SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 327 

otherwise, the temptations to unjust and partial legislation would 
be too fearful, and the oppressions from it might become wholly in- 
supportable. 

I am willing to extend to the American wool-grower such fair 
and reasonable protection as our necessities for revenue will war- 
rant — say 30 per cent. ; and is not that reasonable protection to our 
farmers, who choose the business of wool-growing ? Is not $30 in 
every $100 a reasonable advantage, compared with those engaged 
in other branches of farming, who cannot be protected at all ? Is 
it not as high a tax for their benefit as the public will be contented 
to bear ? Is it not as stvong encouragement as the business will 
warrant, without inviting so many to it as to overstock our markets 
and render the protection useless ? — for all will see that, when they 
shall be compelled to seek an export market, our duty will not aid 
them. I am compelled to say I think this degree of protection 
would better promote the interests of our wool-growers than a high- 
er, or more prohibitory duty ; because it would be stable, the reve- 
nue being necessary ; and because, admitting a moderate foreign 
competition at the great disadvantage of $30 in the $100, it would 
not invite that flood of domestic competition, which perfect prohibi- 
tion would be almost certain to bring upon them, and the conse- 
quent extreme fluctuation which over-competition never fails to pro- 
duce. I believe our wool-growers will be satisfied with this degree 
of protection ; if the taxes upon the articles they are compelled to 
purchase and consume are proportionately reduced. 

Hemp. This is another agricultural production within the reach 
of protection, or which has been hitherto so considered. Yet it will 
be seen that the present duty upon this article, upon the actual im- 
portations for the three quarters of 1843, is only equal to an ad va- 
lorem rate of 32 per cent,, and if put, therefore, at 30 per cent., the 
reduction cannot be material. The present duties upon some of 
the manufactures of hemp are enormous, while others are low reve- 
nue duties. The duties actually paid upon untarred cordage and 
yarn are 174 and 199 per cent., while those paid upon sail duck are 
but 22 per cent. These are inequalities for which there can be no 
reason, connected with a proper protection to the agricultural pro- 
duction. 

I am not acquainted with this branch of agriculture, but I have 
understood that the difliculty does not arise in the growing of hemp ; 
that our soils are as rich and suitable, and produce the crop as easily 



328 SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 

and abundantly, as those of any other country ; but that we either 
do not possess the skill, or are not willing to use it, because it is in- 
jurious to health, properly to rot the hemp for exposed uses. Our 
hemp-growers practise the dew-rotting, while the water-rotting is 
said to be indispensable for durability, when put to exposed uses, 
such as sails, cordage, and the like. I do not suppose any one ex- 
pects, by any degree of protection, to force the dew-rotted hemp to 
these uses ; and I have never been able to perceive how any duty 
we may impose is to give us the skill, if we have it not, to water-rot 
our hemp ; or, if we have the skill, and will not use it, because the 
process is an unhealthy one, how an increase of duty is to change 
that disposition. I have never understood that the question was one 
of expense, and, for that reason, requiring protecticn ; and I am 
nappy to learn that some experiments have been recently made to 
export hemp from this country, with some promise of success. In 
any way, therefore, in which I have been able to view the interests 
of agriculture, as connected with this product, I am forced to con- 
sider a duty of 30 per cent, a sufficient protection, and I think the 
hemp-growers will so consider it. 

Sugar. This is an agricultural production, which has grown 
into importance in our country, within a few years, comparatively 
speaking ; and yet it has already become the great staple of one 
section, and the cultivation and production are rapidly increasing. 
I am wholly unacquainted with this branch of agriculture, and can- 
not, therefore, form any opinion as to the extent of protection re- 
quired for it. The article is one which has been very heavily taxed, 
under almost all our tariff laws ; formerly, much more as a rich 
source of revenue, than from any object of protection to the domes- 
tic production. It has proved to be an article which v/ill bear a 
higher rate of revenue duty than almost any other considerable arti- 
cle of import in our whole list. The duty imposed under the present 
law is much less than that under the tariff of 1816, or any interme- 
diate law, other than the gradual reductions under the compromise 
act; and yet the rates, as have been seen, are from 67 to 101 per 
cent, under this law. It will be also observed, that the falling off 
in the trade, in this article, upon a comparison with the six years, 
has been 55 per cent. ; and with the single year 1842, but 48 per 
cent. ; much less, in both cases, than most of the other articles sub- 
ject to such extreme rates of duty. These facts are referred to, for 
the purpose of showing that the article will bear a very liigh revenue 



SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 329 

duty, and I do not doubt that all the protection required, and cer- 
tainly all which it would be reasonable to impose upon an article of 
such universal consumption, could be aiforded without a violation 
of the revenue principle. 

Of the principal agricultural staples of this country, the three 
named are all which have occurred to me as asking protection, or 
being within its reach. Of all our other great staples, we are ex- 
porters, and not importers ; and the markets of other countries, the 
open market of the world, are our markets for these products, and 
must govern our prices. Protection, therefore, by impost duties im- 
posed by us, is wholly illusory and useless. Any duty imposed by 
us upon the foreign articles in our markets cannot raise the price of 
our articles in a foreifjn market. 

Take the article of flour. This is an important product of agri- 
culture over a very large portion of the Union ; and, of it, the coun- 
try exports largely. I am aware tliat a high duty is imposed upon 
the importation of foreign wheat and flour, by the present law ; but 
does that duty benefit the v/heat-grower ? Where is his price 
made ? Certainly hi our commercial and exporting cities. There 
the surplus of our wheat must go, and does go, to find its market : 
and there the market price is established which governs the sales 
throughout the country. What controls the price in those cities ? 
Supply and demand, which control the price of everything in every 
market. What demand ? The whole demand for flour, no matter 
whether to be consumed at home or to be exported. All purchasers 
in the same market pay the same price, without reference to the 
purpose for which they buy. There is always, as a general rule, 
a surplus of flour in our commercial markets, beyond the demand 
for domestic consumption ; that surplus must seek a foreign mar- 
ket, and the price it will command for exportation controls the price 
of the whole mass. Our duty, therefore, is wholly inoperative, and 
cannot exert the slightest influence upon the price of flour, thus 
controlled, even in our own markets. Flour, then, cannot be pro- 
tected, because we export flour, and the open markets of the world 
a,re our markets, and must control our prices. 

The argument in favor of the prohibitory system upon manufac- 
^red articles, is, that by forcing a larger proportion of our laborers 
mto manufacturing employments, we shall withdraw them from 
agriculture, and thus diminish its productions, while they will be- 
come consumers, instead of producers of its products, and thus the 



330 SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 

agricultural interest will receive a double benefit from the policy. 
I shall by-and-by, have occasion to inquire how far labor is hkely to 
be benefited by a policy which is designed and calculated to make 
dear bread. But, passing that consideration for the present, I will 
examine this argument as applicable to the profits of grain-growing 
as an agricultural pursuit. In just so far as the manufacturing 
employments of this country increase the general demand, in the 
markets of the world, to precisely that extent is the wheat-grower 
benefited by the poMcy, in the single article of the sale of his 
wheat. Beyond that, this effect cannot be experienced so long as 
our wheat and flour market is an exporting market. If the policy 
could be carried so far as to force a sufficient portion of our laborers 
into manufactories, to consume all our flour, and leave no surplus 
for exportation, then might the wheat of our farmer come within the 
reach of protection ; because, then, a prohibitory duty upon foreign 
wheat would give him the monopoly of our markets, and enable him 
to control the price in them. Until that state of things can be pro- 
duced, our wheat and flour cannot be benefited by an impost duty. 
So long as we are exporters, and foreign markets are our markets 
for these articles, the price of the wheat of our farmer cannot be 
benefited by our duty. The increased home demand would benefit 
him so far as it should affect the price of his wheat in the export 
market, but no farther ; and beyond that he could derive no benefit, 
while our country should export wheat. 

Does any senator hope to see the time when this country will iKig 
export breadstuffs ? I do not hope to see that time. I think the 
masses of the people of this country will find speedy cause to regret 
such a period, if it shall ever occur. They will be likely to find 
that a monopoly of bread is anything but a protection to their com- 
forts. 

The articles of heef, pork, hutter and cheese, agricultural produc- 
tions of the North and West, stand in the same relation to this 
policy with wheat and flour. They are great staples of these sec- 
tions of the Union, and they are all articles of export. Their mar- 
ket is the market of the world, and the prices they command are 
measured by the wants of the world, not merely of our Union. 
Import duties upon all these articles are dead letters upon the 
statute book, so far as the interests of our farmers are concerned. 
They afford no revenue to the public treasury to lighten his taxes, 
and add nothing to the price of his products. I speak com- 



SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 331 

paratively. There are imports under all these heads, but not of 
that character which conflict with the farmer's market. Delica- 
cies, luxuries, bearing these general names, are imported in very 
small quantities, for the uses of those who regard their appetites 
more than their pockets. Take the article of cheese as an example. 
The value of the importations, for the three quarters of 1843, was 
$3,850, the quantity being 30,033 pounds. This showed a foreign 
cost of more than 12^ cents per pound, and the duty was 9 cents per 
pound, bringing the article, to the consumer, up to a price probably 
not less than 25 cents per pound, while the market cheese of this 
country commanded about 5 cents per pound in our largest com- 
mercial markets. So with wheat. Choice seed wheat is occa- 
sionally imported, which gives the article a place upon the list of 
imports, while the quantity brought into the country does not, in the 
least, affect the market price of the wheat of our farmer. So with 
the other articles named. 

The manufactories are spoken of as furnishing valuable mar- 
kets to the farmer for these articles of his produce. Where do the 
manufacturers purchase their supplies ? In the great commercial 
markets, where they sell their manufactured goods. By what price 
do they purchase ? By the same v/hich others paid in the same 
markets. New York and Boston are the great exporting markets 
for tlie flour of this country. Did any one ever think of going to 
Lowell, the largest manufacturing village in the country, to learn 
the market price of flour ? Certainly not ; but the manufacturer 
of Lowell goes to the Boston or New York market, both to learn 
that fact, and to purchase the flour for the consumption of his fac- 
tory ; and when there, he purchases for the same price which the 
merchant pays, who purchases to export to England, France, South 
America, or any other foreign market. The former gets no more 
from the manufacturer than from the exporting merchant. So 
with all other like articles of supply for the manufacturing estab- 
lishments. 

It is undoubtedly true that these establishments open a limited 
retail trade to the farmers in their immediate vicinage, for fresh pro- 
visions and temporary supplies, which are both convenient and lucra- 
tive ; but this is a benefit too narrowly circumscribed to be taken 
into the account, when discussing the great and general interests 
of agriculture throughout this wide country. 

Cotton, rice and tobacco, are great agricultural staples of the 



332 SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 

southern and southwestern states, which are also compelled to seek 
foreign markets, and are Uierefore beyond the reach of protection 
from import duties. Of these articles, the cotton is by far the most 
Important, as it is much the most important article of export from 
our country. I believe the estimates are, that about one-fifth of the 
ordinary annual crop is consumed at home ; the remaining four- 
fifths being, of course, compelled to seek a foreign market. What 
proportions of the tobacco and rice find a home market, and what 
proportions are exported, I am unable to say. It is enough that the 
interests of all these branches of agriculture are in much better anJ 
abler hands than mine here ; and in those hands I shall cheer 
fully leave them. 

Not to go further in this examination of agricultural productions, 
here are eleven principal articles, three only of which can be mate- 
rially and practically benefited by protecting duties ; and it is for 
the wisdom and the justice of Congress to decide how far the great 
public and private interests of all will be consulted by taxing the 
eight for the benefit of the three, beyond that degree of taxation 
which a supply of the public treasury shall demand, and the proper 
rates of duties for raising: revenue shall warrant. 

If such the relative advantages and burdens, flowing to the manu- 
facturing, commercial, and agricultural interests, from the prohib- 
itory system of duties, w^hat are the relative claims of these several 
interests to the favors and bounties of the Government, growing out 
of the actual profits of capital now invested in them respectively ? 
Upon this point I pretend to no extent or accuracy of information, 
and my object is to throw out the crude impressions I have imbibed, 
rather to elicit information from others, than under any expectation 
of communicating information myself. 

In agriculture the great mass of the capital of the country is 
employed ; and what does it yield, in net annual proceeds ? The 
senator from South Carolina [Mr. McDuffie] has said he did not be- 
lieve the net profits of the planters of his state exceeded, upon the 
average, 5 per cent, upon the capital invested. I was surprised, at 
the time, to hear the gentleman make so high an estimate. I have 
reflected much upon the subject, and taken some pains to make 
inquiries from others, and do not believe that the net profits of the 
capital invested, upon a fair appraised value of the property in the 
market, in any agricultural county in my state, taking an average 
of years, will exceed 3 per cent., and I should not feel surprised to 



SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 333 

know that it did not exceed 2 per cent. I know that the moderate 
but independent farmers of my section of the Union, worth from 
$3,000 to $8,000, and $10,000, as industrious and frugal as any 
class of the citizens of this country are, or can be ; who can pay 
otf their expenses and lay up from $100 to $200, at the close of 
the year, not counting the labor of themselves and their families 
upon the one side, or their living upon the other, consider them- 
selves as doing well. The investments of capital are more secure 
in this branch of industry, and to that extent should yield less re- 
turns. I do not doubt that many will think me wild in the judg- 
ment I have pronounced, and perhaps I am ; but if gentlemen will 
institute careful inquiries, I have no doubt they will be surprised at 
the very moderate profits derived from the capital employed in agri- 
culture, as a general average for the country. 

In commerce the case is veiy dififerent. Here the hazards are 
extreme, and success usually brings extreme profits. There appears 
to be an attraction in this pursuit, growing out of the very hazards 
which surround it. Vast fortunes are, sometimes, suddenly accu- 
mulated, and, like the lotteries, men are prone to look at the prizes, 
not at the blanks which are drawn. Still I very much doubt whe- 
ther, as a whole, the net profits of the capital invested are not less 
in this than in either of the other great divisions of business. I have 
often thought that, were any branch of human industry presented, 
however lucrative the compensation promised, where the hazards to 
life and health vvere seen to be as great as are the hazards which 
attend the employment of capital in commerce, and where so many 
wrecks could be seen along its shore, no human being would be 
found to engage in it. I have heard calculations of the rate per 
cent, of commercial men who fail in business, and it was fearfully 
great, though my memory will not permit me to state, with confi- 
dence, what the rate was. 

How, tlien, is it in the manufacturing and mechanical branches 
of industry ? Here, more than in the other branches, forecast and 
calculation can be employed. The agriculturalist must take the 
chances of the seasons, the merchant the peril of the seas, and 
both the changes of the markets ; while the latter is the only hazard 
of the manufacturer and mechanic, whose employments do not rest 
upon artificial and changing legislation. I can speak from an 
acquaintance somewhat extensive as to the mechanics of the coun- 
iry as a class of citizens ; and where industry and prudence are 



334 SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 

carefully observed, no class of men in our country are more certain 
to reach comfortable independence. Among the most useful, inde- 
pendent, and respectable citizens, wherever I have enjoyed a per- 
sonal acquaintance, I have always found the mechanics, as a class, 
holding a very prominent place. Hence I have been led to believe 
that the profits of capital and the fruits of industry in their employ- 
ments are as good as in any others I have known, as a general 
remark. 

With the large manufacturing establishments I have scarcely 
any acquaintance. I must speak of them, therefore, from report, 
and I shall do so principally from what has been said of the profits 
of their capital, in the course of this debate. And what has been 
said upon this point ? Their dividends have been spoken of as 
ranging from 6, 7, 14, and 20 per cent, up to 30 and 40 per cent, 
per annum. These latter rates, I am compelled to suppose, must 
be somewhat exaggerated. I have, however, been informed, from 
sources upon which I place strong reliance, that some of the estab- 
hshments engaged both in the cotton and the woollen manufacture, 
are able to divide to their stockholders 7 per cent, upon their capital 
stock, half-yearly, and to accumulate a surplus amply sufficient to 
cover all contingent losses. This is too much for interests sus- 
tained by the universal taxation of all other branches of industry. 
If this is so, it proves conclusively to my mind, that the present pro- 
hibitory duties should be modified, and fair revenue duties substi- 
tuted, that a healthful competition may moderate these profits, by a 
reduction of the prices of the manufactured articles to the consu- 
mers. This is far beyond the profits of capital in other branches of 
industry, and too much to be sustained by burdens imposed upon 
them. 

It remains for me to consider the influence of the system of pro- 
hibitions, and prohibitory duties, upon labor as a distinct interest ; 
the labor of those operatives, in all the great departments of indus- 
try, which is compensated by stipulated wages, and has no other or 
further interest in the capital which employs it, or in the profits or 
losses arising from the employment of that capital. 

This division of the subject, and the careful consideration of this 
head, is rendered more appropriate and important, because the advo- 
cates of the system of high and prohibitory duties place its defence 
and justification mainly — nay, I may say almost exclusively — upon 
the ground of protection to this labor. To give it more constant 



SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 335 

and more profitable employment is their great avowed object ; and 
some of the most earnest of those advocates, in this debate, have 
gone so far as to say that, if this ground could not be sustained, the 
system itself could not be defended and justified. 

This avowed object is a worthy one. No great interest in any 
country more justly demands or deserves the watchful regard of 
legislators than this labor, and no member of this body feels more 
earnestly anxious than I do to shape all our legislation so as to 
bring the fewest burdens upon, and the greatest benefits to it. Un- 
der the influence of this disposition, I shall enter upon the examina- 
tion of what I think are, and must be, the influences of such a policy 
upon this description of labor in our country. 

One position cannot fail to be admitted. If the high duties raise 
the price of the necessaries of life to our laborer, the cost of his 
food, his clothing, and his comforts, to that extent, they are a tax 
upon him, and lay him under the necessity of having more constant 
employment, or higher wages, or both, to meet the increased ex- 
penses of his living. And this consequence must attach to him in 
whichever of the great branches of industry he may be employed. 
The tax he must pay upon these necessaries must be equal, whether 
he be engaged in manufactures, commerce, or agriculture. 

While the high duties remain, and are effective to raise the price 
and extend the market for manufactured articles, those engaged m 
the manufacturing branches of industry may be able to employ more 
labor, and to pay better prices, in consequence of the duties ; but it 
has been already shown that duties, imposed for protection and not 
for revenue, never have been, and never can be, sustained at a sta- 
ble point ; that, as soon as they shall have the effect to give artificial 
values to the protected articles, the burden of the tax will be felt 
by all other interests, the disproportionate profits to the protected 
mterests will be seen, discontents will be engendered, and the duties 
\vill be reduced. This will suspend employment at the high rates 
of wages, and the laborer will be thrown wholly out of employment. 

Again : If too prohibitory, commerce will be destroyed, the col- 
lection of revenue defeated, and reduction of the duties back to the 
revenue point will become compulsory. Tliis will have the same 
effect to render the employment of the laborer inconstant and fitful, 
as well as to unsettle the rate of his wages. And if these two 
almost unavoidable consequences do not follow, the increased profits, 
arising from the artificial values given to the products, will produce 



336 SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 

domestic competition, break down the monopoly, reduce the busi- 
ness to the level of other pursuits, and thus destroy the effect of 
the duties upon the wages of labor. In either of these events, the 
influence upon the wages of the laborer must be temporary, and 
the consequence of the temporary increase of his compensation 
must be inconstant employment at any rate of compensation. 

In this aspect of the case, it is important to examine the nature 
of the connection between this labor and the capital which employs 
it, in the manufacturing branches. And it should be premised, that, 
in any state of duties, any advance in the rates of wages will only 
be a consequence of an advance in the products of that labor, and 
so far from keeping pace Vv^ith the latter, be the enhancement of the 
value of the products v/hat it may, the only increase in the com- 
pensation to labor will be what is required to command the requi- 
site amount of it from the other great branches of industry. If 
the goods of the manufacturer should be doubled in value, it by no 
means follows that he would double the wages of the labor he em- 
ploys. That would depend ujjon the rates of wages which his 
agricultural and commercial neighbors vvere able to pay, and the 
rate of wages he would establish wo aid only be such as to take 
from them the labor he should require. An advance of 5 per cent, 
would effect this object, and he certainly would not go beyond its 
accomplishment. This principle is not only true when applied to 
labor employed in manufacturing, but is equally applicable to the^ 
wages of labor in all the pursuits of industry. No capitalist, what- 
ever may be his employment, pays more for labor tlian will com- 
mand such as he requires, be the profits of his business what they 
may. If the wheat of the farmer, or his wool, or his beef, double 
in value, he does not, in consequence, double the wages of his 
laborers. If the adventure of the merchant double his capital 
invested, he does not, in consequence, double the wages of his sailors 
and cartmen. A permanent advance in products generally draws 
after it an advance in the wages of labor, but always as a conse- 
quence; the labor is the last to advance, and, when the enhance- 
ment of the value of products is extreme, labor never keeps pace 
with them. The ordinary wages of the able-bodied day laborer of 
tlie North, in the hay and harvest season, is $1, in money, or one 
bushel of wheat ; but let wheat advance to $2.50 per bushel, as it 
sometimes does, and the wages of the laborer may be $1.60, never 



SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 337 

more, and more likely $1.25. The operation of this rule is uni- 
versal. 

Let the usual revulsion come, after one of these periods of high 
prices, as it always must come, and what is the effect upon labor ? 
Employment, at any rate of wages, almost ceases. The farmer 
and the merchant curtail their operations within the narrowest pos- 
sible limits ; and the manufacturer closes his factory, and stops 
altogether. This compels the laborer, at once, to work for any rate 
of wages he can get, when any employment at all is offered. Such 
are the fruits of extreme fluctuations upon labor ; and it has been 
seen that fluctuations must be a consequence of high and prohib- 
itory duties, and a consequent artificial standard of value, in any 
branch of industry. 

Again : The manufacturer can make his business the subject of 
very accurate estimate and calculation ; and hence he is able to 
establish the rates of his laborers' wages so as, with a very great 
degree of certainty, to protect himself from loss. He is about to 
make a certain quantity of a certain description of goods, say cotton 
or woollen cloths. He can tell precisely what the materials will 
cost him, how long it will take his mills to work them up, what will 
be the ordinary wear and tear of his machinery, what his allowance 
for accidents, what the interest upon his capital, and, from the 
prices current of the day, what the cloths will sell for in the 
market. He knows, then, what he can afford to pay for the labor, 
his only risk being a change in the market, before his cloths can 
be placed there. Will he exceed in his rate of wages what he 
thus ascertains he can afford to pay ? Never. He will sooner 
close his mills, and let his capital remain idle. Will he pay for his 
labor all which this calculation shows him he can afford to pay ? 
That does not follow, if that be more than will command from 
others the labor he wants. Hence, in this branch of industry, the 
laborer must work for the ordinary rate of wages, be the profits of 
the manufacturer what they may ; while, if prices are low, he must 
work for what the manufacturer can afford to give without loss to 
liimself, or the factory is closed, and he finds no employment there 
at all. In other words, the profits upon his capital are the whole 
object of the proprietor of the manufactory ; and he will not work 
it to his own loss, knowing it to be so. If, therefore, fluctuations 
come, which he can foresee — if prices fall below a healthful line — 
the weight is thrown from himself on to the shoulders of the laborer, 

15 



338 SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 

and he must bear the loss in a reduction of his compensation, or he 
must be thrown out of employment altogether. 

Another consideration, I suppose must materially affect manufac- 
turing labor. I am not personally acquainted \vith the subject, but 
I suppose that labor is rendered more dependent than labor in the 
other branches of industry, because the laborer, by long employ- 
ment in a manufacturing establishment is, to a great extent, un- 
fitted to perform profitable labor in any other calling. Is this not 
so as to the great body of manufacturing laborers ? and does not, 
tlierefore, the sudden closing of the factories, and the entire arrest 
of their employment, reduce them to peculiar dependence, unknown 
to any other classes of laborers in our country ? Such are my 
impressions, and if they are well founded, they will show the great 
power which the manufacturing capitalist must hold over the em- 
ployment, and, by necessary consequence, over the living, the com- 
forts, and the independence of the manufacturing laborer. Is it 
wise or politic, in reference to the labor of this country, to endeavor 
to shape our laws so as to force it into these dependent situations, 
from the more free, and equally comfortable and respectable em- 
ployments of agriculture and commerce ? I cannot think so. 

I have admitted that, while the high duties shall be effective to 
the manufacturing interest, it can afford to make a better compen- 
sation to labor, although the rates of compensation, so artificially 
improved, as well as the entire labor under the system, must there- 
by be rendered unstable, fluctuating, fitful, and uncertain ; yet how 
will the same system of duties and prohibitions affect the commer- 
cial branch of our industry ? I have before attempted, and I believe 
successfully, to shov/ that this whole policy must be a direct burden 
upon commerce. Upon this interest it is that the tax is directly felt. 
Here the capital must be raised to pay the duties. Here the hazards 
of the markets, at the enhanced prices, must be encountered. And 
can this great branch of industry make better and higher compen- 
sation for its labor under such a system ? Palpably not ; and yet 
its labor is equally taxed, and equally demands increased compen- 
sation. Suppose the duties are prohibitory. To that extent com- 
merce is destroyed, and the call for labor to carry on its operations 
is also destroyed. Its whole operations, too, under such a system, 
must be unsteady, uncertain, changeful, and fluctuating ; and so 
must be its demand for labor, and its ability to compensate it ; and 
yet its labor, under all these disadvantages, must bear its full share 



SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 839 

of the burdens of the system. Its food, and clothing, and comforts, 
must bear the same taxation with the other branches of labor, and 
be injured in the rate of its compensation, in the steadiness of its 
employment, and in the extent of the demand upon which it relies. 
Need I say more to prove that moderate, reasonable, stable revenue 
duties are infinitely more advantageous to the labor employed in 
commerce, than a system of prohibitions even intended to protect 
labor ? 

How is it, then, with the labor employed in agriculture 1 The 
wool-grower, while the protective duties shall have the effect to 
raise the price of his wool, may be able more fully to compen- 
sate the labor he is called upon to employ ; bat what is his de- 
mand for labor ? Nothing like that of the man who tills the soil, 
and makes grain-growing his business. Upon this point I speak 
with some confidence, as I believe I possess accurate personal in- 
formation. That portion of the country in which I resided from in- 
fancy to manhood was then a grain-growing, and is now a wool- 
growing district. The consequence has been a vast change in the 
hired labor employed by the farmers. Their hay-cutting season is 
now the only one in which the demand for labor is extensive, most 
of the farmers intending to tend their flocks of sheep, and manage 
their limited tillage, with small additions to the labor of their own 
families ; and the mass of the labor of their hay-fields is now per- 
formed by transient laborers from the neighboring British province 
of Canada. The rate of wages is high, but the employment very 
temporary ; and in consequence, that class of native laborers which, 
when I was a boy, depended upon employment from those farmers, 
is not now found there. They have gone west to the grain-grow- 
ing sections. 

The hemp and sugar-growers of the southwest may require the 
same, or even more labor, in consequence of their protection ; and 
may also be able to pay better prices, so long as the duties shall 
have the effect to enhance the value of their products in the market. 
Of these agricultural employments I cannot speak from personal 
acquaintance, and I am therefore disposed to indulge the most fa- 
vorable presumptions in regard to the labor employed in them. 

What is the influence upon the labor employed in tillage, in rais- 
ing the wheat and other grains of the North and West, and in 
making the beef, pork, butter, and cheese of those sections, and in 
cultivating the cotton, rice, and tobacco of the South ? They will 



340 SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 

require the same labor in proportion to their productions. Their 
labor is equally taxed with that in the other branches ; and their 
own clothing and other necessaries and comforts, save the provis- 
ions which they produce, bear the same burdens with those con- 
sumed by their fellow-citizens in other employments. Will the 
system of high and prohibitory duties enable them to pay more for 
their labor ? It has been seen that their products must seek the 
open markets of the world, and that our duties cannot aifect their 
price. If the duties shall be so high as to break up, or materially 
interrupt the exchanges of commerce, to that extent their markets 
must be injured and the value of their products depressed. How, 
then, can they afford to pay higher wages for labor, under such a 
system, than under one of stable revenue duties, v»'hich leaves their 
markets open, commerce healthful, and themselves and their labor 
but moderately taxed, and that to supply the national treasury, 
which they must, in some form, contribute to supply ? They can- 
not. They cannot so well afford to compensate labor for its toil ; 
and yet these employments are the great resource of at least nine- 
tenths of the labor of this whole country. 

Entertaining, most deeply, these impressions in relation to the in- 
fluences of the prohibitory system of duties upon the labor of this 
country, I have expended a good deal of time and research to inform 
myself as to the results of a like policy upon this great and vital 
interest in countries where the system is much older, and has been 
much more rigidly enforced, than as yet with us. One natural and 
necessary consequence of the system has appeared to me to be to 
increase the power of capital over labor, by forcing it into artificial 
channels, and thus increasing its dependence ; to increase the profits 
of capital at the expense of labor, and finally to give to the former 
a monopoly to impoverish and oppress the latter. 

As England is the country to which we are most usually referred 
for lessons of wisdom upon this subject, and the British Government 
is the one which claims and receives the credit of having most per- 
fectly protected its domestic interests, and especially its labor, I have 
referred to British history to satisfy my inquiries upon this point. 
The examination has been a tedious one, and briefly and imperfectly 
as I intend to exhibit it to the Senate, I shall be compelled to be 
tedious in the performance of that task. 

And first, as to wool. The export of wool from Great Britain 
was prohibited by law from 1660 down to 1825, while the article 



SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 841 

was permitted to be imported free of duty down to the year 1802. 
Here the agricultural interest was made subservient to the manu- 
facturing, by the strongest provisions of law. The British wool- 
growor was compelled to sell his wool in the markets of bis own 
country, and all the world were at liberty to compete with him there 
upon equal terms. In 1802, a very light revenue duty of 23. 3d. 
sterling per cwt. was imposed upon imported wool, which was raised 
in 1813, to 63. 8d., and in 1819, to 56s., equal to 6d. per pound. 
This high duty was continued but for a short period ; when, to favor 
the manufacture, the import duty was brought back to 1 farthing 
par pound upon wool costing Is. sterling per pound or under, and 
Id. per pound upon all other wool, where it now remains. 

In 1337 Parliament passed a law, " prohibiting the wear of any 
cloth made beyond sea, and interdicting the export of EngUsh 
wool." 

In 1525 the manufacture of wool was domestic, and pretty equally 
distributed over the kingdom. 

In 1533 a law was passed, reciting " that the city of York afore 
this time had been upholden principally by making and weaving of 
coverlets, and the poor thereof daily set on work in spinning, card- 
ing, dyeing, weaving, &c. ;" that the manufacture, having spread 
into other parts, Vv^as " thereby debased and discredited ;" and enact- 
ing, as a remedy for this evil, that henceforth " none shall make 
coverlets in Yorksliire but inhabitants of the city of York." 

About the same time an act was passed to restrain the manufac- 
ture in Worcestershire to the town of Worcester and four other 
towns. 

Here was protection to the woollen manufacture, carried not 
merely to the prohibition of all imports of woollen goods, and the 
wear within the realm of all cloths made beyond sea, but to the pro- 
hibition of the manufacture, in certain branches, by any of the in- 
habitants of the country, except in certain specified towns ; in other 
words, protection by law against domestic as well as foreign com- 
petition. 

In 1677 a law was passed, declaring upon its face that it was for 
ihe encouragement of the woollen manufacture, which required 
that all persons should be buried in woollen shrouds, and that the 
coffins should be lined with woollen cloth, if lined with cloth at all. 
Heavy penalties were imposed for any violation of this act, which 
went to the clergyman of the parish, whose duty it was made to 



342 SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 

prosecute for the penalties when incurred ; and he was to read the 
act to his congregation on a specified Sabbatli in each year. This 
law the historian says was enforced, and remained a statute of the 
realm for more than one hundred and thirty years. 

As early as the year 1700, manufactures of wool were exported 
from Great Britain to the amount of more than £3,000,000 sterling 
per annum. In 1787 the average exports were about three and a 
half millions, up to, and until after, at which date all importations 
were entirely prohibited. In 1819 importations were permitted at a 
duty of 50 per cent. ; which duty was subsequently reduced, and in 
1834, was but 15 per cent, upon goods not made up, and 20 per 
cent, upon those made up, or partly so. 

In 1834, the entire manufactures of wool in the kingdom were 
valued at £21,000,000, a little less tlian one-third of which were 
exported. 

This brief sketch will show with what minuteness and rigid care 
this interest has received legislative protection in England, and how 
readily and perfectly even the agricultural interest is subjected to 
its advancement ; and under that government, v/here the will of 
Parliament is the constitution and the only limit of power, they are 
not compelled to resort to prohibitory duties to reach such an ob- 
ject, but proliibiticns in terms, as well of exportations as of importa- 
tions, are readily and freely resorted to, when thought to be more 
efficient. 

The duty upon bar-iron, in 1787, was £2 16s. 2d. per ton, and 
upon iron in pigs 27i per cent. ; but iron castings and manufactures 
of iron were prohibited. At this period, the exports of iron were 
very small, only some eleven or twelve thousand tons per year. 
In 1819, the duty upon bar-iron had been raised to £6 10 0, and 
upon iron in pigs to 17s. 6d, while the importation of iron castings 
was permitted at a duty of 20 per cent., and wrought iron and the 
manufactures of iron at 50 per cent. In 1834 the duty upon bar- 
iron had been reduced to £l 10 0, upon iron in pigs to lOs, upon 
castings to 10 per cent., and upon wrought-iron and the manufac- 
tures to 20 per cent. In this year, the exports of iron were 
145,000 tons, and in 1838, 255,317 tons. The substitution of pit 
for wood coal, about a century ago, gave a wonderful impetus to 
this manufacture in Great Britain, and reduced the price of iron 
one half in a comparatively short period. 

The manufacture of cottons to any considerable extent in Great 



SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 343 

Britain, is comparatively of recent origin. It is supposed to have 
existed to some extent in the early part of the seventeenth century; 
hut down to a period as late as 1773, cotton was only used for fill- 
ing upon a linen warp. This manufacture was also at first domes- 
tic, and very generally scattered over the country. The weavers 
purchased their linen warp of the Irish, their cotton wool in their 
own markets, and from these materials made their cloth in their own 
houses, and sold it where they could find purchasers. About 1760, 
tJie merchants of Manchester commenced to purchase the warp and 
cotton, and send agents into the country to hire the vv^eavers to man- 
ufacture cloth for them. At this time the whole value of the man- 
ufacture in the Idngdom was but £200,000 per annum. In 1767, 
Hargrave invented the spinning-jenny, and soon after Arkwright 
invented the spinning-frame. About 1785 Compton invented the 
mule-jenny, and Cartwright the power-loom. After these improve- 
ments the manufacture extended itself with unexampled rapidity, 
although this has never been an interest so peculiarly favored by 
British legislation as the woollens interest. At an early period this 
branch of manufacture was directly discouraged, and almost pro- 
hibited by law. In 1721 a law was passed imposing a penalty of 
£5 upon the weaver, and £20 upon any person who should sell a 
piece of cotton calico within the realm. This was to protect the 
woollen and linen manufactures ; and fifteen years after this time, 
this legislation was so modified that calicoes manufactured in Great 
Britain were permitted to be v/orn, " provided the warp thereof was 
entirely of linen yam." 

At this early period importations of cotton wool were permitted 
free of duty ; and as eariy as 1788, the manufacturers were pro- 
tected by an import duty of from 44 to 50 per cent. In 1819, these 
duties were raised to 50 and 67* per cent. ; and in 1834 were re- 
duced to 10 and 20 per cent. 

Nothing can exhibit more forcibly the advance of the cotton man- 
ufacture in Great Britain, or of the production of cotton wool in this 
country, than a brief reference to our exports of that article to that 
country. In 1791, the first cotton wool was imported into England 
from the United States, and the quantity was 189,316 pounds. In 
1792, the quantity was less, being only 138,328 pounds. In 1793> 
Whitney invented the cotton-gin, and in 1794 we sent to Great 
Britain 1,601,760 pounds of cotton; in 1795, 5,276,300 pounds; 
and in 1837, (forty-two years,) this export had reached the enor- 



344 SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 

mous amount of 444,211,537 pounds. Previous to 1831, the im- 
port duty into Great Britain did not exceed six per cent. It was 
then raised to 10s. sterling per cwt., which duty was found too 
burdensome to the British manufacture, and in 1833 it was reduced 
to 2s. lid. per cwt. At about this period, the estimated value per 
annum of the manufactures of cotton, in the realm, was £34,000,000 
sterling, more than a third beyond the value of the manufactures of 
wool at the same period. Of this amount of manufactures, about 
one-half are annually exported, and find their market out of the 
kingdom. 

Such is a very brief sketch of these three important branches of 
manufacture, wool, iron, and cotton, in Great Britain, from their in- 
fancy, until they became extensive and important exporting inter- 
ests ; and it deserves remark, that that one cf the three which de- 
pends entirely upon a foreign material, and which has been the least 
favored by legislation, had become by far the most important of the 
three, and much the most extensive and important manufacturing 
interest in the kingdom. Another remark should also be made, and 
it is that all these interests have long since advanced beyond the 
reach of protecting duties, by becoming exporting interests, and be- 
ing compelled to seek the open markets of the world for a very 
large share of their productions. The present import duties, being 
low revenue duties, is conclusive proof upon this point. 

This brief history shows a further fact connected with the argu- 
ments urged in support of the prohibitory policy of this country. It 
is that Great Britain has reached that condition which the advo- 
cates of that system here seem to suppose is so very desirable, and 
will be such a source of wealth, happiness, and independence to 
this country — the condition when the population of the country re- 
quire all its produce of provisions for their own sustenance. There 
the agriculturalist has that home market, the exclusive benefits of 
which hold so conspicuous a place in these arguments. 

Wliat has been, and what is now, the influence upon the labor 
of Great Britain of this home monopoly of food ? This is the point 
I am at present discussing, and it is in reference to the influence 
upon labor that I now propose to examine the protective and prohib- 
itory system of that Government, and its general legislative policy 
in respect to the agricultural interest. Here, again, I shall be com- 
pelled to be tedious, but to myself the examination is not without 



SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 345 

deep and exciting interest. I propose to confine myself principally 
to breadstufFs, and mostly to the article of wheat. 

I find that, from the conquest in the eleventh century down to 
1436, (nearly four hundred years,) the exportation of breadstuff's 
from England was entirely prohibited, while I find no notice of any 
restraint upon importation. The declared policy during this period 
was to secure an abundance of provisions, and low prices. In 
other words, it was a aystem of protection to labor at the expense 
of capital. 

In the year last named, a law was passed to permit the exporta- 
tion of breadstuff's when the home price should have fallen to a cer- 
tain specified point. For wheat it was about 36 cents per bushel, 
and other grains in proportion. The policy of tliis legislation was 
to relieve agriculture from the depression of its own overstocked 
markets, but under the restriction, that exportation must cease 
when the domestic price should rise above the point named. 

Laws were also passed to regulate and restrain the domestic trade 
in breadstuff's. These laws made it highly penal for purchasers to 
buy up and engross the stocks in grain, and prohibited purchasing 
in one part of the kingdom to sell in another. 

In 1562, exportation was permitted when the domestic price 
should fall to about 54 cents the bushel of wheat; and in 1571, 
the permission was extended to the price of about f^l 07; but an 
export duty of about 101 cents was imposed, to be paid to the public 
treasury. 

In 1624, the laws imposing restraints upon the internal trade in 
breadstuff's were materially modified. 

In 1670, the point of exportation was extended to the price of 
about $1 47 per bushel for wheat, the same export duty being im- 
posed. The same law prohibited importations when tlie home 
price should be at or below the point of exportation, and imposed an 
import duty of 22 1-5 cents per bushel until the home price should 
rise to $2 22 cents, when importations could be made free of duty. 

This appears to be the first law adapting the policy of direct pro- 
tection to agriculture by prohibitions and import duties. 

In 1673 only three years after, all the laws restraining the in- 
ternal trade in grain were wholly repealed, evidently in furtherance 
of the same policy of removing the restrictions upon agriculture and 
extending its privileges. 

In 1689, sixteen years later, the policy on the subject of the ex- 



m, 



346 SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 

portation of breadstuffs was precisely reversed. The export duty 
of 101 cents per bushel was repealed, and a bounty allowed of 
about 14 cents per bushel, to be paid from the public treasury, upon 
ihe exportation of wheat, when the home price should be at or be- 
low $1 33 per bushel. This swept away the last remaining vestige 
of legislation, designed, or calculated, to make bread plenty or 
cheap ; and adopted fully the policy of legislating, as our system 
proposes to do, to make it scarce and dear. 

From this period until 1773, almost a century, the legislation 
fluctuated — at some periods exportation being v/holly prohibited, 
and at others the sums paid in bounties upon exportation being very 
large. In the single year 1750 these bounties paid amounted to 
$1,062,270. At the early part of this interval, the import duty was 
increased to about 45f cents per bushel upon wheat, when the home 
price was at or below ^1 52 per bushel ; and half that duty above 
that price and below $2 30, when importations were permitted free. 
In 1699, 1703, 1704, and 1747, additions were made to this duty, 
the last law fixing it at 63 cents per bushel when the domestic 
price was at or below $1 25, and continuing very heavy duties until 
that price chould rise to the former limit of $2 30. 

In 1773 a great change was made. Importations were allowed 
at a merely nominal duty, when the home price should rise to $1 37 
per bushel for wheat, and exportation was entirely prohibited vv^hen 
that price should be above $1 22. This law also first allowed im- 
portations of wheat in bond. Here was an extensive remission of 
the former protective policy in favor of the consumers of bread- 
stuffs, and consequently in favor of labor. From this time until 
1791 no material change took place in the general policy of the 
legislation, though several laws were passed increasing the import 
duty when the price of wheat was at or below the limit before fixed 
of $1 37 per bushel, the last bringing that duty up to 69 cents per 
bushel. 

In 1791 new demands v/ere made for further protection to the 
agricultural interest. Deep fears were expressed that the country 
would be brought to a dependence upon foreign wheat for its bread, 
unless greater encouragement was given to the domestic wheat 
grower. The duty was then 69 cents per bushel, but that duty 
ceased when the home price should rise above $1 37. The conse- 
quence of this agitation was the continuance of that duty until the 



SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 347 

home price should rise above $1 43, and the addition of heavy du- 
ties betvi^een that price and ^1 ^-i per bushel. 

In this lecrislation is furnislied the clearest e\ddence that the con- 
sumption of bread-stuffs in the kingdom was exceeding its fair nat- 
ural production, and the brief sketch I have given of the advance of 
the manufacturing interests will show that at this period it was that 
the manufactures of woollens, iron, and cotton, were making their 
most rapid extensions, forced along by very high protecting duties 
or positive prohibitions. The consequence of this farther protection 
to the grain-growing interests was a forced movement in that direc- 
tion. Lands much more suited to grazing were taken in and put to 
tillage under the artificial encouragement and the necessities of the 
country for bread, and mark the first consequence. 

In 1793, at the expiration of but two years, the bounties upon the 
exportation of wheat from the realm were revived. The domestic 
markets had become so soon overstocked, and as the land-owners 
could not sustain the consequent fall in the home price, a bounty 
must be paid to them, from the public treasury, for exporting their 
surplus to foreign countries, and selling it there cheaper than they 
were willing to sell it in the markets of their own country. 

In 1797 the Bank of England suspended specie payments, prices 
of commodities and of bread-stuffs with others rose greatly, and de- 
mands for further protection to the grain-growers was the speedy 
consequence ; and in this year, and also in 1803 and 1804, moderate 
additions were made to the import duty. 

A second law, in 1804, fixed the import duty at 861 cents per 
bushel, when the price should be at or below $1 80, and a moderate 
duty between that price and $1 89. This act continued the boun- 
ties on exportation when tlie home price should fall to $1 35. 

In 1805, 1806, 1809, and 1813, laws were passed increasing the 
import duty; the last fixing it at ^1 13 per bushel, when the price 
in the domestic market should be at or below ^1 80. 

In 1814, all restrictions upon exportation were taken ofl^, and all 
bounties upon exportation repealed. 

In 1815, after a desperate struggle in the country and in Parha- 
ment, a law was passed prohibiting importations for domestic con- 
sumption, when the price of wheat was at or below $2 30 per 
bushel, and allowing them, free of dutij, when the price rose above 
that point. 

Here this branch of British legislation reached its climax, and 



348 SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 

between that time and 1827, several acts were passed permitting 
importations of bread-stuffs, for specified periods, or in limited quan- 
tities, or under special orders from the crown or the board of trade, 
at very moderate duties ; and upon one occasion the lords commis- 
sioners of trade actually admitted the importation of a considerable 
quantity of bread-stuffs, in the face of the law, and subsequently 
sought and received the sanction of Parliament for their act. 

In 1827 a modiiic«,tion of this extreme protection took place. The 
import duty was fixed at 57 cents per bushel when the price of 
wheat should be at or below $1 72 ; and for every fall from that 
price of 22 cents, 44 cents were added to the duty ; and for every 
rise in the price of 22 cents above the point fixed, (.$)1 72,) 44 cents 
were to be taken from the duty, until wheat should come to be about 
$2 per bushel, when the duty was to be stationary, and merely 
nominal — only equal to about 21 cents per bushel. This act was 
limited upon its face, and was to expire on the 1st of May, 1828. 
This was the first direct introduction of the sliding-scale of duties, 
which still characterizes the British corn laws ; and these modifica- 
tions of the law of 1815 were predicated upon the admission that the 
protection to this interest had been carried to excess under that law. 

In 1828 a general law fully adopting the sliding-scale, so called, 
gave again permanent regulation to these duties. The point fixed 
for importations at a merely nominal duty, was a domestic price a 
trifle above $2 per bushel. For a fall of Is. sterling below this 
price, 2s. 8d. were added to the duty per quarter of eiglit bushels ; 
for a fall of a second shilling per quarter, four shillings more were 
added to the duty ; and so on, irregularly increasing the duty as the 
home price of wheat should fall, until, at the price of $1 85, the 
duty should be 57 cents per bushel ; and from that point the duty 
was to increase exactly as the price should fall. 

After this period no material change is believed to have taken 
place until the now existing law, which fixes the duty at 55 V cents 
per bushel when the price of wheat is $1 41 J, and diminishes the 
duty exactly, or almost exactly, as the price rises, until it reaches 
$2, when the duty becomes fixed, and merely nominal — Is. per 
quarter of eight bushels. 

Such is a brief and very imperfect sketch of the protection which 
British legislation has given, first to the consumers, and then to the 
^producers, of bread-stuffs. 

A mere glance at the legislation in reference to a few otlier arti- 



SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 349 

cles of provisions will close this review. In 1787, the import duty 
upon hams and bacon was ^10 43 per cwt. ; that duty in 1819 was 
raised to $12 43, and is now just half that amount, $6 21 per cwt. 
The importation of salted beef and pork was prohibited in 1787 and 
in 1819, and now the duty is .$2 66 per cwt. In 1787, the import 
duty upon butter was but 55i cents per cwt., and in 1819, and at 
the present time, it is $4 44. Upon cheese, the duty in 1787 was 
33^ cents per cwt., and in 1819, and at the present time, it is $2 31. 
Such has been the protection extended to these important agricul- 
tural productions, which are equally necessary articles of food. 

Such has been the British system of protection to domestic in- 
terests, as the terms are used in this debate — to great branches of 
manufucture, and to the great and leading interests of agriculture — 
and what have been the fruits to the British population, to the British 
masses, to British labor ? — for this last is my present point of inquiry. 
Need I refer to the present condition of the laboring masses of 
Great Britain to answer this question ? Are authorities required 
to establish and illustrate the condition of that portion of the British 
population ? I shall not attempt to adduce them. The very argu- 
ment upon which the present tariff law is sustained, and its policy 
justified, by its most intelligent as well as most distinguished advo- 
cates here, admits all I wish to infer, as the fruits of the British sys- 
tem. What is that argument ? That our manufactures, our agri- 
culture, our every interest, require to be protected against " the pau- 
per labor of Europe,''^ and of what country in Europe so much as 
Great Britain ? What other country holds such stern competition 
with us in almost all our manufacturing interests, and especially in 
wool, iron, and cotton ? Not one, and not all the countries of Eu- 
rope combined. Protection, then, is demanded most emphatically 
against the pauper labor of England, of Great Britain. And hence 
my argument drawn from the practical workings of the British sys- 
tem, cannot be inapplicable or inappropriate. 

Again, I v.'ill repeat, I am examining the influence of this pro- 
hibitory and monopolizing system upon labor, upon the condition 
and comforts of the laboring classes, and upon the wages of labor. 
What, then, is the present condition of the day-laborer in Great 
Britain? What in England itself? That of poverty, want, and 
hunger. Poverty in his dwelling, in his clothing, in his food. I 
remember to have seen, within one or two years, extracts from some 
public document, I believe some examination before a committee of 



350 SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 

Parliament, in which it was stated that the agricultural laborer of 
England did not consume as much wholesome bread by about one- 
fourth as the same description of laborers in France, and nearly one 
half less than the same laborer in tliis country ; that he did not have, 
on the average, to exceed one full meal of butcher's meat per week ; 
and that the laborers in the manufactories were not as well fed as 
those employed in agriculture. The same document stated that tlie 
laborer in Ireland was scarcely acquainted with the articles of meat 
and bread, as articles of his own food, the potato being almost his 
exclusive living. 

Such have been the fruits of this system of prohibitions and mo- 
nopoly of bread to labor, in Great Britain, and such is the condition 
to which a rigid adherence to it for many centuries has reduced the 
comm.on laborer of that country. It has produced an impassable 
separation between labor and capital, and an examination of the 
official documents upon which the modern British legislation is pre- 
dicated will show that the great inquiry is, how will any proposed 
measure aifect capital ; the rents of land ; the revenues of the 
wealthy classes ; the credit of the stocks ? — not how it will affect 
the working man or his comforts. The tendency there has been to 
benefit capital at the expense of labor, until it has made the capital- 
ist an aristocrat, rolling in wealth, holding the labor of the country 
under his feet, by liis monopoly over all the pursuits of industry, and 
the Government of the country and the control of its pohcy, in his 
hands, by the power of the loans which the profits of his capital 
arising from this legislation has enabled him to make to it. It has 
made the Government a proud, splendid, and powerful bankrupt, 
buried under a mountain of debt which it never hopes to pay ; and 
it has made the working man a starving beggar — a legalized pauper. 

Can a like policy and like measures fail to produce like results 
upon the laboring man of this country ? They have produced them 
to an almost equal extent in France, Spain, Austria, and every other 
country where the monopolizing policy has controlled the legislation. 
In Great Britain they have been produced most perfectly, because 
there the policy has been adopted most extensively and pursued 
most rigidly ; but everywhere the marked effect has been to sepa- 
rate capital and labor, and to place the latter entirely in the power 
of the former ; and an invariable consequence has been to increase 
the profits of capital, and diminish the wages, the comforts, and the 
independence of labor. Ireland affords the most striking example 



SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 351 

of the extent to which the power and oppression of capital over 
labor can be carried. There even the landlord is a permanent ab- 
sentee, not simply from his estate, but from the country, and every- 
thing which will sell is carried away to extinguish his rents and 
swell his gains, while that which will not, remains to subsist an 
almost naked and almost starving tenantry, suffering under the op- 
pressions of a merciless agent of their absentee landlord. 

I have letters, informing me that persons are now engaged, in 
various parts of the country, endeavoring to prejudice the minds of 
our honest Irish laborers against those who seek to modify the pres- 
ent tariff law, alleging that it is done to benefit British labor, at the 
expense of the labor of this country. Do they hope to convince 
these warm-hearted sons of oppression, who have fled from this 
system at home, that it will be a blessing to confer it upon them 
here ? Are they to be made to believe that the British policy, wliich 
has brought the laborer in Great Britain to absolute starvation, is a 
policy which is to promote their happiness m this country ? They 
will pay, as cheerfully as any portion of our population, such taxes 
as the support of the Government may require, but their experience 
at home will not be likely to make them easily believe that taxation 
will bring them either comforts or independence. 

Still, it is said, we require protection against the pauper labor of 
their country, and of other European coimtries. This is not the 
ground assumed at an earlier stage of this policy. Then it was, 
that our manufacturers required protection against the increased 
cost of the raw materials for their manufacture in this country over 
that cost in the manufacturing countries of Europe. I hold in my 
hand the minutes of testimony taken before the committee on man- 
ufactures of the House of Representatives, during the session of 
Congress of 1827-28, and previous to the passage of the tariff law 
of 1828. The testimony to which I refer related to the manufacture 
of wool ; and every witness who answered the interrogatory agreed 
in stating that wool could be manufactured as cheap in this country 
as in England, the manufacturer here having the wool and other 
materials at the same price. 

[Mr. Wright here read the testimony of several witnesses, among 
w^hich were the followincr : — 

Col. James Shepherd, of Northampton, Massachusetts, witness, 
was asked the following question, and gave the following answer: 

" Question. Of an equal quality of wool, at present prices, in Eng- 



352 SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 

land and the United States, can the English manufacturer make a 
cheaper fabric than can be made in the United States ? If so, how 
much cheaper ? 

" Answer. The difference in the price of the fabric would be the 
difference of the price of the wool, in my opinion, as I think we can 
manufacture it as cheap as they can !" 

Mr. W. read the testimony of Abraliam Marland of x\ndover, 
Massachusetts ; William W. Young, of Wilmington, Delaware ; 
James Walcott, Jr., of Southbridge, Massachusetts; and Joshua 
Clapp, of Boston, Massachusetts, to the same purport. 

He then read the testimony of Joshua W. Pierce, of Somers- 
worth, New Hampshire, as follows : — 

" Question. Without reference to the price of wool, can the 
fabric be manufactured as cheap in the United States as in Eng- 
land ? 

" Ansicer. I think it can. All my information brings me to this 
conclusion ; and one reason I would assign is, that we substitute a 
much larger share of the labor of females than they do in Eng- 
land, in the woollen manufacture." 

He also read the testimony of Elenterre Irene Dupont, of New 
Castle county, Delaware, as follows : — 

" Question. Without reference to the difference in the price of 
wool, can the fabric be manufactured as cheap in the United States 
as in England ? 

" Ansioer. Tlie woollen manufactory is not fairly established in 
this countr}', but I kn®w no reason why we cannot manufacture as 
well, and as cheap, as they can in England, except the difference 
in the price of labor, for ivhich, in my opinion, we are fullij com- 
pensated by other advantages. Our difficulties are not the cost of 
manufacturing, but the great fluctuations in our home market, 
caused by the excessive and irregular foreign importations. The 
high prices we pay for labor are, in my opinion, beneficial to the 
American manufacturer, as for those wages he gets a much better 
selection of hands, and those capable of, and willing to, perform a 
much greater amount of labor in a given time. The American 
manufacturer, also, uses a larger share of labor-saving machinery 
than is used in the English manufactories, which very much dimin- 
ishes the effect of the higher rates of wages upon the actual cost of 
our goods.""] 

Here is the sworn testimony of practical manufacturers in 1828. 



SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 353 

They did not, then, suppose that they required protection against 
" the pauper labor" of England. Whether time has changed their 
interests, in this respect, I am unable to say. I do not suppose it 
has materially, as I am not aware that the wages of labor have 
risen in this country, or fallen in England, so as to widen the dis- 
parity between the two countries, very essentially, since 1828. 

Whether these witnesses were, at the time, laboring under a mis- 
take in judgment upon this point, is another question which I am 
not able to decide. I will confess that I had some doubts, when the 
testimony was given ; and yet it satisfied me that the disparity, if 
any, must be much less than seemed to be generally supposed. 

Another remark is suggested here, from the answer of the last 
witness. Our cotton and woollen manufactures must now cer- 
tainly be fully and firmly established ; and I suppose the skill pos- 
sessed in these branches must be as perfect, as to the qualities and 
kinds of goods manufactured, as that possessed by manufacturers 
elsewhere. In 1828, tliis was one of the principal grounds upon 
which protection was sought. It was contended that our manu- 
facturers wanted time to establish their business, and acquire the 
skill necessary to compete with foreign establishments. Has suffi- 
cient time to accomplish these objects been allowed, that now the 
ground is changed upon which continued protection, beyond that 
which the collection of the revenue will afford, is still demanded ? 
I suppose that must be so, and hence it is necessary to examine 
this new ground, and more especially as to its influence upon 
labor. 

If we are to adopt the prohibitory system to protect our manu- 
facturing interests against the pauper labor of Europe, when is the 
ground for that protection to cease ? Certainly not until one of two 
events can be brought about. It must continue either until pauper 
labor shall cease to exist in Europe, or until the system shall pro- 
duce pauper labor here, which can compete upon equal terms, with 
the pauper labor of other manufacturing countries. Who ever 
expects to see the time when there will not be pauper labor in Eng- 
land, and the other European countries ? Certainly no one, while 
the present institutions, and systems, and policy, of those Govern- 
ments continue. The first event, therefore, is not to take place, and 
thus relieve our manufacturers from their demands for protection 
against the pauper labor of Europe. 

How is it as to the second of these events ? Will the pro- 



354 SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 

hibitory system, fully introduced and rigidly adhered to, reduce 
the labor of this country to a similar state of pauperism, and 
therefore of equal competition, with the labor of Europe? It has 
been seen that such has been one of its fruits, in every country 
where it has been rigidly enforced. Suppose the system to be car- 
ried to the British extent in this country, and that a sufficient por- 
tion of our population be induced by it to resort to manufacturing 
and the mechanic arts to consume all our agricultural productions : 
can that portion of the population which continues in agricultural 
pursuits consume all the manufactured products of the portion en- 
gaged in that branch ? Certainly not the one half of them. As 
one man employed in agriculture can feed several engaged in other 
pursuits, so one man employed in manufactures can clothe several 
engaged in agriculture. What, then, is to become of the surplus 
of manufactures ? Now there is a surplus of agricultural produc- 
tions, and that surplus is and must be exported ; and hence those 
productions are beyond the reach of protection from our duties. So 
must the surplus of mxanufactures, in the assumed case, be exported ; 
and then Avill manufactures be beyond the reach of our protection, 
while the agricultural productions, being all consumed at home, 
will be brought within the reach of protection from our duties. 

Such is precisely the present condition of Great Britain, and her 
agricultural interests prove as ready to demand her legislative pro- 
tection, and a monopoly of her home markets, as did her manufac- 
turing interests, in their infancy, while the latter have passed be- 
yond the reach of benefit from the policy, by having become her 
exporting interests. 

Suppose this revolution accomplished in our country, and that all 
our agricultural products are consumed at home, and all our ex- 
ports are made to consist of our manufactured products : how wall 
then be our manufacturing labor ? It will be beyond the reach of 
protecting duties, because its products would have to be sold in the 
open markets of the world, and to meet the competition of the world, 
the pauper labor of Europe and all. No import duties of ours can 
enhance the value of their products, or give to them the monopoly 
of a market. They must meet competition, as the great mass of 
our agricultural productions now do, wherever a market can be 
found. Then, however, our agriculture, like that of England at the 
present time, will (-laim the protection within its reach, the exclu- 
sive possession ol the markets of its own country. It vidll com- 



SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 355 

mand and secure that protection, for it is, and will be, the com- 
manding interest. It will here, as in other countries, draw the 
capital of the nation to itself, for the security of the investment, 
when the control of the national policy shall enable that capital, 
thus invested, to dictate its own profits. 

When such a state of things shall have been produced by a pro- 
hibitory policy on the part of this Government, what will measure 
the compensation to labor ? and what, especially, to manufacturing 
labor ? The manufacturer can make his calculations as well then 
as now. He can tell the cost of his materials, the interest upon his 
capital invested, the wear and tear of his machinery, and the promise 
of his market, as well under such a system as under the present ; 
and, consequently, he will know as certainly what he can afford to 
pay for labor, and when his interests will be better served by closing 
his factory than by employing laborers to run it. What will he do ? 
Will he not pay such rates of wages for labor as he can afford to 
pay, or employ no laborers at all ? Most certainly he will. ^Vhat 
will be his movable item of cost in deciding the question whether 
he shall work his mills or suffer them to remain idle ? Most cer- 
tainly the wages of his labor. He cannot control the cost of the 
materials of liis manufacture, or the cost of the provisions and 
otlier necessaries of the laborers he is to employ ; and he will not 
abate the profits upon his capital ; but he can and will control the 
wages of his labor. 

If, then, pauper labor in Europe meets him in the foreign market, 
he must and will have pauper labor at home to compete with it, or 
he will close his mills and employ no labor. And suppose he does 
that, what is this mass of unemployed manufacturing labor to do ? 
Where is it to resort ? Will agriculture take it up ? Certainly 
not ; because that will extend its productions beyond a supply for 
the home market, and destroy its monopoly and high prices, by com- 
pelling it to export. 

This is precisely the result of the experience of Great Britain, as 
before shown, and of all other countries which have pursued the 
monopolizing policy. The result in all has been dear bread and 
cheap labor ; the prosperity of capital and the subjection of the 
masses ; the triumph of the power of money over the moral and 
physical power of men. It must be so in this country, if ever the 
time shall arrive that its manufacturing, rather than its agricul- 
tural, becomes its exporting interest. Then the laborer will be fet- 



I 



356 SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 

tered and bound down to such fixed employment as capital shall 
find it for its interest to give, and the wages of labor must, as in 
England now, be controlled by the prices at which the products of 
manufacture can be sold abroad. I will make a brief reference to 
testimony taken before a committee of the House of Commons of 
the British Parliament in 1842, to show the working of the system 
upon the wages of labor there. The witness was a Mr. Joseph 
Walker, an extensive manufacturer, at Wolverhampton, England. 
Speaking of the duties upon the foreign iron used in their manufac- 
tories, and the effect of that duty upon the wages they are able to 
pay for labor, he says, " that difference must come out of the wages 
of labor here ; for we actually export the goods that we make of 
foreign iron ; and when we export them, we must sell them at the 
price the foreigner does." 

" Question. You mean to say that that burden compells you to 
reduce the wages so as to enable you to compete with the foreigner ? 
Ajiswer. It has the effect of reducing them the whole amount of the 
duty." 

Again : speaking of duties upon articles of provisions, the wit- 
ness says : " Undoubtedly all the duties put upon the importation 
of food of all descriptions — on coffee, sugar, corn, and everything 
of that sort — are a direct disadvantage to the laboring man of Eng- 
land ; because it is evident that the manufacturer must sell his 
goods at the price at which the foreigner sells his ; and, in order to 
do that, he must reduce his wages to the workmen." Again : 

" Question. Do the wages of the workmen at Wolverhampton rise 
and fall with the price of food, and other articles of necessity ? An- 
swer. No : I think not. I do not think it operates. The wages of 
labor depend upon the demand for the goods, not upon the price of 
the provisions. We witness, now, low wages and a high price of 
provisions ; high prices of bread, meat and groceries." Again : 
" Question. Unless the price of your manufactures was lower, how 
would vou be better able to meet the foreign manufacturer than 
you now are ? Ajiswer. We are now compelled to fall back upon 
a reduction of wages to meet the foreign manufacturers, because 
the cost of the raw material is the same to them and to us ; and it 
is, therefore, the workmen who suffer. If we do not get 10s. for a 
piece of goods in a foreign market, and we are obliged to take 8s., 
we must then either cease to send the goods there, or fall back 
upon the wages to reduce it to 8s." 



SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 357 

Here is the sworn testimony of an intelligent manufacturer of 
goods in England for an export market, and here his exposition of 
the influence upon the wages of labor, of the condition I have 
assumed ; when the productions of agriculture find consumers at 
home to their full extent, and when the manufacturing has become 
the exporting interest. 

I have said I do not wish to see the time when this country shall 
cease to export the bread-stuffs and other articles of food. Here 
are my reasons. This witness has stated them from a practical 
experience. I do not wish to see the time when our duties will fall 
upon the hungry laborer, because he must have food ; and this tes- 
timony shows that the capitalist will not let them fall upon him. If 
compelled to pay a duty upon his iron, he will deduct the amount 
from the wages of his laborer ; and the laborer must work for such 
wages as he can get, or he cannot eat his highly-taxed food. Such 
are my views of the unavoidable final fruits of the prohibitory sys- 
tem upon labor and the laboring man. 

So much has been said, in the course of this debate, about the 
present prosperity of the country, and the agency of the present 
tariff law in producing the prosperous change, that I feel compelled 
to offer a remark or two upon that subject. And, in the first place, 
it is my duty to inquire to what extent the country can now be said 
to be in a prosperous state. It is important to settle the fact, before 
it will become necessary to seek for the cause. 

The commercial exhibition, which I have presented for the year 
1843, certainly does not furnish much ground for exultation, so far 
as that great interest is concerned. I am aware that trade is hold- 
ing out a somewhat better promise for the present year ; though 
nothing I have yet seen indicates very abundant importations for 
this year. I suspect that gentlemen have rather looked at the du- 
ties collected, under the present very high rates, than at the value 
of the importations ; for they will remember, if the imports should 
rise up to what has been considered in former years a healthful and 
prosperous state of commerce, with the present very limited free list, 
the revenue collected must be enormous under the present rates of 
duty. 

How is it with agriculture ? Is that interest prosperous ? I can 
speak within my own limited acquaintance, and not beyond it. In 
the county of my residence, the beef and pork and butter and cheese 
of the fanner, during the last fall, which was the season for the 



358 SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 

sale of those productions, found one of the dullest markets which 
that section of the country has ever known, and at prices at least 
from 15 to 20 per cent, reduced from the previous very low year. 
Such is the state of agricultural prosperity there, and 1 am informed 
and believe that all the northern and western counties of my state 
have met the same experience. Bread-stuffs, and especially wheat, 
I believe did a little better last fall, and found ready markets at 
moderately fair prices. 

The manufacturers, it is said, have been doing a very lucrative 
business under this law, and I presume that interest may be called 
prosperous ; and I think the prosperity derivable from this legisla- 
tion, must be limited mainly to that interest. 

I do believe that the law has exerted some influence in the resto- 
ration of the public credit ; and the belief that it would, operated 
strongly in inducing me to vote for it ; but a much more moderate 
law, and one arranged upon fair revenue principles, while it would 
have had at least an equal effect in that direction, would have less 
embarrassed agriculture and commerce, and laid a more safe and 
healthful foundation for the lasting prosperity of our manufactures. 

In speaking of our prosperity, senators seem to forget our con- 
dition at the time the law passed. The evils of our bloated credit 
system had passed over the country, blighting everything like pros- 
perity, and leaving only debt and distrust. Time has measurably 
restored confidence where it was deserved, and the sponge of the 
bankrupt law has wiped away the hopeless load of debt. In this 
condition, the country is as certain to rise into a state of prosperity, 
as the young and sound constitution, to recover health, after the 
seeds of the disease which has prostrated it have been eradicated. 
Here is the great and resistless cause of the moderate degree of 
prosperity which has yet appeared, and it will be scarcely in the 
power of bad legislation to prevent its onward progress, though it 
may, as I beheve this law will, if not properly modified, materially 
retard it. 

Finally, I vidll ask, can a system of taxation be made a system 

of blessings to a whole people ? Is it possible that a country can 

/ be taxed into prosperity, and wealth, and happiness ? If the tax- 

/ collector be benefited, must not the tax-payer feel the burden ? If 

' one interest is positively promoted by the arrangement of the tax, 

must uot some other one be burdened by it ? It is a tax, and must 

be paid, and all therefore cannot receive, and none pay. Would 



s 



SPEECH ON THE TARIFF. 359 

Congress think of imposing taxes, if revenue were not wanted? 
Would any one think of imposing high duties if there were no ex- 
penses of the Government to provide for ? I suppose not ; and hence 
it seems to me that the duties v/e do impose should be imposed to 
raise the means to meet those expenses, sot to defeat revenue by 
prohibiting importations. 

Let me not be misunderstood. My argument is not between pro- 
tection and no protection. It is between that degree of protection 
which is incident to revenue and consistent with it, and prohibition, 
destroying revenue and conferring monopoly. I am willing to throw 
the whole mass of the revenue from customs — from sixteen to 
twenty millions of dollars a year — between the domestic and foreign 
competing interests, for the protection of the former ; but I am not 
willing to shut out competition, break up our commerce, and destroy 
our revenue, to favor any interest. I believe such a policy unequal 
and unjust ; that it will unreasonably burden the exporting interests, 
and must finally fall with crushing weight upon the working man. 



AGRICULTURAL ADDRESS. 

[Read by John A. Dix, at the Exhibition of the Xew York State Agricultural 
Society, held at Saratoga, September 16th, 1847.] 

Before proceeding to read the Address, Mr. Dix made the follow- 
ing remarks : — 

Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Society: — I have come 
here, at your request, to perform a melancholy duty — to read to 
you and to this assembly, the Annual Address prepared for the oc- 
casion by Silas Wright. In the order of your proceedings it was 
to have been delivered by himself. The providence of God has 
overruled your arrangements. The voice which was to have been 
heard by the thousands assembled here, is silenced forever. He 
who was to have stood before you where I now stand, and to 
have borne a prominent part in your proceedings, has gone down 
in the fulness of health and strength, to the tomb. The large 
space which Mr. Wright filled in the public eye, his great talents 
and the moral elevation of his character, render that bereave- 
ment a national calamity. The general gloom which the intel- 
ligence of his death carried with it, attests the profound respect in 
which he was held by his countrymen, and the strong impression 
which his character and services had wrought in the public mind. 

The admonition contained in these hidden dispensations of Prov- 
idence is the more solemn, when those who are conspicuous for 
their intellect and their virtue, are called from the field of their 
labor, while they are yet fresh and vigorous, and when the path 
they tread seems but an avenue to higher distinction. It is thus 
that the career of Mr. Wnght has been terminated, while his 
faculties were in full vigor, and while much of the high promise 
of his life was yet to be fulfilled. His death is the more im- 
pressive at this time, and in this place, from the peculiar circum- 
stances by which his name is connected with the proceedings of 



AGRICULTURAL ADDRESS. 361 

the day. The intellectual labor in which he had been engaged, 
at the invitation of the society, was performed. The address he 
was to liave delivered, was completed during the very last hours 
of his life. Thus, the accomplishment of the task he had under- 
taken for the society, may be said to have been coincident with 
the termination of his earthly career. 

I am not here, 31 r. President and gentlemen, to pronounce a 
eulogy on the character or public services of Mr. Wright ; but 
to perform the more humble part of reading to you the address, 
which lies before me — the last labor of his life — and which seems 
to come as a legacy to the society, to his friends, and to his coun- 
trymen. At the same time, I have thought it might not be inap- 
propriate or unsatisfactory to refer briefly to some of the circum- 
stances attending his decease. 

It is well known that Mr. Wright for the last twenty years has 
held, without interruption, various ])ublic trusts requiring inces- 
sant mental labor, and leading to a habitually sedentary life. In 
the intervals of his service in the Senate of the United States, 
from 1833 to 1845, a portion of his time was devoted to the cul- 
tivation of his garden and a few acres of land, by his own hands. 
While govenior of the state he purchased an additional quantity 
of land, and when relieved from the duties of the executive of- 
fice, he a[)plied himself with great diligence and zeal to the im- 
provement of it. His labor was not merely that of superintend- 
ence. He was himself a principal labcu'er in all his agricultural 
operations. He hired an able-bodied, hard-working man, and 
went with him into the field, ploughing, mowing and harvesting, 
pertbrming himself a full share of labor; and, after the fatigues 
of the day, retiring to his study and passing his evenings in read- 
ing and in correspondence. To these excessive exertions of body 
and of mind, and to the too rapid transition from a life of compar- 
ative bodily inactivity to one of severe manual labor, is doubtless 
to be traced the sudden attack, which terminated his existence. 
I need not dwell upon details, which have been so widely circu- 
lated, and are now so generally known. Suffice it to say, that on 
the morning after he had revised the address, which I am about 
to read, and after having made a few corrections, leaving it 
word for word as it now is, and probably precisely what it would 
have been if he had lived to deliver it himself, he was seized with 
a severe pain in the breast at the village post-office, — walked 

16 



362 AGRICULTURAL ADDRESS. 

calmly to his house with a few friends, and in two hours he had 
as calmly breathed his last. 

Such, gentlemen, were the last hours of Silas AVright ! The 
same calmness which distinguished him throughout all the 
changes of his life, accompanied him at its close. From the first 
moment of his attack he appeared to understand its fatal char- 
acter, and he submitted to it without a struggle or a murmur. 

In him perished one of the purest models of a citizen and a 
statesman the country contained. He may be said, indeed, to 
have been an impersonation of the true character and spirit of 
her institutions. In the traditions and legends of early ages, be- 
fore these eras of legitimate history, their periods are markedly 
the lines and actions of distinguished ])ersonages, invested with 
the ruling characteristics of the communities of which they were 
intended to be the types. The spirit of the political system is thus 
illustrated by the individual example. Mr. Wright might have 
been copied without any coloring of the imagination, as an exempli- 
fication of the genius of ours — of what it is, and what it ought to be 
— of its simplicity, its purity and its strength. Plain and unosten- 
tatious in his manners, serene amid all the agitations of life, un- 
ambitious of wealth and honors, singularly courteous and kind in 
his intercourse with others, equally dignified — whether dealing 
with the most complex questions of public policy in the Senate 
chamber, or when tilling, with Roman simplicity, his own field — 
he recalled to mind those classical examples of distinguished pa- 
triotism and virtue, which gave lustre to the times in which they 
existed, and which have come down to us consecrated by the 
memory of ages. 

The close of his life was in harmony with its whole course. It 
was appropriate that the last labors of his hands should have been 
performed with the implements of husbandry, and that the last 
effort of his mind should have been given to the cause of agricul- 
ture, a pursuit to which the great mass of his countrymen are de- 
voted, and on which the purity of the body politic, and the 
durability of our social system, pre-eminently depend. - 

With these remarks, which I could not forbear to make, and 
for which I trust the occasion will furnish my apology, I proceed 
to read the address. 



AGRICULTURAL ADDRESS. 368 

Mr. President, and Gentlemen of the State Agricvltural So^ 
ciety : — 

Had it been my purpose to entertain you with a eulogiura upon 
the great interest confided to your care, the Agriculture of the 
State, I should find myself forestalled by the exhibition which 
surrounds us, and which has pronounced that eulogy to the eye, 
much more forcibly, impressively, eloquently, than I could com- 
mand language to pronounce it to the ear of this assembly. 

Had I mistakenly proposed to address to you a discourse upon 
agricultural production, this exhibition would have driven me 
from my purpose, by the conviction that I am a backward and 
scarcely initiated scholar, standing in the presence of masters, with 
the least instructed and experienced of whom, it would be my 
duty to change places. 

The agiiculture of our state, far as it yet is from maturity and 
perfection, has already become an art, a science, a profession, in 
which he who would instruct must be first himself instructed far 
beyond the advancement of him who now addresses you. 

The pervading character of this'great and vital interest, how- 
ever; its intimate connection with the wants, comforts, and inter- 
ests of every man in every employment and calling in life ; and 
its controlling relations to the commerce, manufactures, substan- 
tial independence, and general health and prosperity of our whole 
people, present abundant subjects for contemplation upon occa- 
sions like this, without attempting to explore the depths or to de- 
fine the principles of a science so profound, and, to the unitiated, 
so difficult, as is that of agriculture. 

Agricultural production is the substratum of the whole super- 
structure ; the great element which spreads the sail and impels 
the car of commerce, and moves the hands and turns the ma- 
chinery of manufacture. The earth is the common mother of all, 
in whatever employment engaged, and the fruits gathered from 
its bosom, are alike the indispensable nutriment and support of 
all. The productions of its surface and the treasures of its mines, 
are the material upon which the labor of the agriculturist, the 
merchant, and the manufacturer, are alike bestowed, and are the 
pri/e for which all alike toil. 

The active stimulus which urges all forward, excites industry, 
awakens ingenuity, and brings out invention, is the prospect or 



864 AGRICULTURAL ADDRESS. 

hope of a market for the productions of their labor. The far- 
mer produces to sell; the merchant purchases to sell; and the 
manufacturer fabricates to sell. Self-consumption of their re- 
spective goods, although an indispensable necessity of life, is a 
mere incident in the mind impelled to acquisition. To gain that 
which is not produced or required, by the sale of that -which is 
possessed, is the great struggle of laboring man. 

Agricultural production is the first in order, the strongest in 
necessity, and the highest in usefulness, in this whole system of 
acquisition. The other branches stand upon it, are sustained by 
it, and without it, could not exist. Still it has been almost uni- 
formly, as the whole history of our state and country will show, 
the most neglected. Apprenticeship, education, a specific course 
of systematic instruction, has been, time out of mind, considered 
an indis])ensable pre-requisite to a creditable or successful engage- 
ment in commercial or mechanical pursuits ; while to know how 
to wield the axe, to hold the plough, and to swing the scythe, has 
been deemed sufficient to entitle the possessor of that knowledge 
to the first place and the highest wages in agricultural employ- 
ment. 

A simple principle of production and of trade, always prac- 
tically applied to manufactures and commerce, that the best and 
cheapest article will command the market, and prove the most 
profitable to the producer and the seller, because most beneficial 
to the buyer and consumer, is but beginning to receive its appli- 
cation to agriculture. The merchant, who, from a more exten- 
sive acquaintance with his occupation, a more attentive observa- 
tion of the markets, better adapted means, and a more careful 
application of sound judgment, untiring energy and prudent in- 
dustry, can buy the best and sell the cheapest, has always been 
seen to be the earliest and surest to accomplish the great object of 
his class, an independence for himself. So the mechanic, who, from 
a more thorough instruction in the principles and handicraft of 
his trade, or a more intense application of mind and judgment 
with labor, can improve the articles he fabricates, or the ma- 
chinery and modes of their manufacture, and can thus produce 
the best and sell the cheapest, has always been seen to reach the 
same advantage over his competitors, with equal readiness and 
certainty ; and that these results should follow these means and 
efforts, has been considered natural and unavoidable. 



AORICULTURAL ADDRESS. - 365 

Still the agriculturist has been content to follow in the beaten 
track, to pursue the course his fathers have ever pursued, and to 
depend on the earth, the seasons, good fortune and Providence, 
for a crop, indulging the hope that high prices may compensate 
for diminished quantity or inferior quality. It has scarcely oc- 
curred to him, that the study of the principles of his profession, 
had anythmg to do with his success as a farmer, or that what he 
had demanded from his soils should be considered in connection 
with what he is to do for them, and what he is about to ask thera 
to perform. He has almost overlooked the vital fact, that his 
lands, like his patient teams, require to be fed to enable them to 
perform well ; and especially has he neglected to consider, that 
there is a hke connection between the quantity and quality of the 
food they are to receive, and the service to be required from them. 
Ready, almost always, to the extent of their ability, to make ad- 
vances for the purchase of more lands, how few of our fanners, 
in the comparison, are willing to make the necessary outlays for 
the profitable improvement of the land they have? 

These, and kindred subjects are beginning to occupy the minds 
of our farmers, and the debt they owe to this society for its efforts 
to awaken their attention to these important facts, and to supply 
useful and practical information in regard to them, is gradually 
receiving a just appreciation, as the assemblage which surrounds 
us, and the exhibitions upon this ground, most gratifyingly prove. 

Many of our agi-iculturists are now vigorously commencing the 
study of their soils, the adaptation of their manures to the soil and 
the crop, the nature of the plants they cultivate, the food they re- 
quire, and the best methods of administering that food to pro- 
duce health and vigor and fruit ; and they are becoming con- 
vinced that to understand how to plough and sow and reap, is not 
the whole education of a farmer; but that it is (juite as impor- 
tant to know what land is prepared for the plough, and what seed 
it will bring to a harvest worthy of the labors of the sickle. Ex- 
perience is steadily proving that, by a due attention to these con- 
siderations, a better article, doubled in quantity, may be produced 
from the same acre of ground, with a small proportionate in- 
crease of labor and expense, and that the farmer who pursues 
this improved system of agriculture, can, like the merchant and 
mechanic referred to, enter the market with a better production, 
at a cheaper price, than his less enterprising competitor. 



366 AGRICULTURAL ADDRESS. 

The change in the agritulture of our state and country, opens 
to the mind reflections of the most cheering character. If carried 
out to its legitimate resuhs, it promises a competition among our 
farmers, not to obtain the highest prices for inferior productions, 
but to produce the most, the best, and the cheapest of the neces- 
saries of human Hfe. It promises agricultural prosperity, with 
cheap and good bread, furnished in abundance to all who will eat 
within the rule prescribed to fallen man, in the sacred volume of 
the Divine law. 

Steady resolution and persevering energy, are requisite to carry 
forward these improvements to that degree of perfection dictated 
alike by interest and by duty ; and the stimulus of a steady and 
remunerating market will rouse that resolution, and nerve that 
energy. Without this encouragement in prospect, few will per- 
severe in making improvements which require close and constant 
mental application, as well as severe physical labor. Agriculture 
will never be healthfully or profitably prosecuted by him whose 
controlling object is his own consumption. The hope of gain is 
the motive power to human industry, and is as necessary to the 
farmer as to the merchant or manufacturer. All who labor are 
equally stimulated by the prospect of a market which is to remu- 
nerate them for their toil, and without this hope, neither mental 
activity, nor physical energy, will characterize their exertions. 
True it is that the farmers of our countrv, as a class, calculate 
less closely the profits of their labor and capital, than men en- 
gaged in most other pursuits, and are content with lower rates of 
gain. The most of them own their farms, their stock and farm- 
ing implements, unincumbered by debt. Their business gives but 
an annual return. They live frugally, labor patiently and faith- 
fully, and at the close of the year, its expenses are paid from its 
proceeds, the balance remaining being accounted the profits of 
the year. Although a moderate sum. it produces contentment, 
without a computation of the rate per cent, upon the capital in- 
vested, or the wages it will pay to the proprietor and the mem- 
bers of his family. The result is an advance in the great object 
of human labor, and, if not rapid, it is safe and certain. It is a 
surplus beyond the expenses of living, to be added to the estate, 
and may be repeated in each revolving year. 

If, however, this surplus is left upon the hands of the farmer, in 
his own products, for which there is no market, his energies are 



AGRICULTURAL ADDRESS. 367 

paralyzed, liis spirits sink, and he scarcely feels that the year has 
added to his gains. He sees little encouragement in tcjiling on, 
to cultivate beyond his wants, productions which will not sell ; 
and the chances are, that his farm is neglected, his husbandry be- 
comes bad, and his gains in fact cease. 

To continue a progressive state of improvement in agriculture, 
then, and to give energy and prosperity to this great and vital 
branch of human industry, a healthful and stable market becomes 
indispensable, and no object should more carefully occupy the at- 
tention of the farmers of the United States. 

Deeply impressed with the conviction of this truth, benevolent 
minds have cherished the idea that a domestic market, to be in- 
fluenced only by our own national policy, would be so far pref- 
erable, in stability and certainty, to the open market of the com- 
mercial world, as to have persuaded themselves that a sutficient 
market for our agricultural products is thus attainable. It is not 
designed to discuss the soundness of this theory, where it can be 
reduced to practice; but only to inquire whether the state of this 
country, the condition of its society, and the tendency and incli- 
nation of its population, as to their industrial pursuits, are such, 
at the present time, or can be expected to be such, for generations 
yet to come, as to render it possible to consume within the coun- 
try', the surplus of the productions of our agriculture. The the- 
ory of an exclusively domestic market, for this great domestic 
interest, is certainly a very beautiful one, as a theory, and can 
scarcely fail to strike the mind favorably upon a first impression. 
Still, examination has produced differences of opinion between 
statesmen of equal intelligence and patriotism, as to its influences 
upon the happiness and prosperity of a country and its population. 
Any examination of this question would lead to a discussion, prop- 
erly considered, political, if not partisan ; and all such discus- 
sions it is my settled purpose to avoid, as inappropriate to the 
place and the occasion. 

I simply propose to inquire as to a fact, which must control the 
application of theories and principles of political economy touching 
this point, to our country and its agricultural population, without 
raising any question as to the wisdom of the one, or the soundness 
of tJie other. Is the consumption of this country equal to its agri- 
cultural production, or can it become so within any calculable period 
of years? How is the fact? May I not inquire without giving 



368 AGRICULTURAL ADDRESS. 

offence, or transcending the limits I have prescribed for myself in 
the discussion ? Can a fair examination, scrupulously confined to 
this point, take a political bearing, or disturb a political feeling ? It 
is certainly not my design to wound the feelings of any member of 
the society, or of any citizen of the country ; and I have convinced 
myself that I may make this inquiry, and express the conclusions 
of my own mind as to the result, without doing either. If I shall 
prove to be in error, it will be an error as to the fact inquired after, 
and not as to the soundness of the principle in political economy 
dependent upon the fact for its application, because as to the sound- 
ness of the principle, I attempt no discussion and offer no opinion. 
It will be an error as to the applicability of a theory to our country, 
and not as to the wisdom or policy of the theory itself, because of 
the soundness or unsoundness of the theory ; when it can be prac- 
tically applied, I studiously refrain from any expression, as inappro- 
priate here. With the indulgence of the society, I will inquire as 
to the fact. 

Our country is very wide and very new. It embraces every va- 
riety of climate and soil most favorable to agricultural pursuits. It 
produces already almost every agricultural staple, and the most im- 
portant are the ordinary productions of extensive sections of the 
country, and are now sent to the markets in great abundance. 

Yet our agriculture is in its infancy almost everywhere, and at 
its maturity nowhere. It is believed to be entirely safe to assume 
that there is not one single agricultural county in the whole Union, 
filled up in an agricultural sense — not one such county which has 
not yet land to be brought into cultivation, and much more land, the 
cultivation of which is to be materially improved, before it can be 
considered as having reached the measure of its capacity for pro- 
duction. If this be true of the best cultivated agricultural county 
in the Union, how vast is the proportion of those counties which 
have entire townships, and of the states, which have not merely 
counties, but entire districts, yet wholly unpeopled, and unreclaimed 
from the wilderness state ? 

When to this broad area of the agricultural field of our country, 
we add our immense territories, organized and unorganized, who 
can compute the agricultural capacities of the United States, or fix 
a limit to the period when our surplus agricultural productions will 
increase with increasing years and population ? Compare the cen- 
sus of 1830 and 1840 with the map of the Union, and witness the 



AGRICULTURAL ADDRESS. 369 

increase of population in the new states, which are almost exclu- 
sively agricultural, and who can doubt the strong and resistless in- 
clination of our people to this pursuit ? 

Connect with these considerations of extent of country, diversity 
of soils, varieties of climate, and partial and imperfect cultivation^ 
the present agricultural prospects of this country. Witness the 
rapid advances of the last dozen years in the character of our cul- 
tivation, the quality and quantity of our productions from a given 
breadth of land, and the improvements in all the implements by 
which the labor of the farmer is assisted and applied. ]Mark the 
vast change in the current of educated mind of the country, in res- 
pect to this pursuit ; the awakened attention to its high respectability 
as a profession, to its safety from hazards, to its healthfulness to 
mind and body, and to its productiveness. Listen to the calls for 
information, for education, upon agricultural subjects, and to tiie 
demands that this education shall constitute a department in the 
great and all pervading system of our common school education, a 
subject at this moment receiving the especial attention, and being 
pressed forward by the renewed energies of this society. Behold 
the numbers of professors, honored with the highest testimonials of 
learning conferred in our country, devoting their lives to geological 
and chemical researches, calculated to evolve the laws of nature 
connected with agricultural productions. Go into our colleges and 
institutions of learning, and count the young men toiling indus- 
triously for their diplomas, to qualify themselves to become practical 
and successful farmers ; already convinced that equally with the 
clerical, the legal, and the medical professions, that of agriculture 
requires a thorough and systematic education, and its successful 
practice the exercise of an active mind devoted to diligent study. 

Apply these bright and brightening prospects to the almost bound- 
less agricultural field of our country, with its varied and salubrious 
climate, its fresh and unbroken soils, its cheap lands and fee simple 
titles, and who can hope, if he would, to turn the inclinations of our 
people from this fair field of labor and of pleasure ? Here the toil 
which secures a certain independence is sweetened by the constant 
and constantly varying exhibitions of nature in her most lovely 
forms, and cheered by the most benignant manifestations of the 
wonderful power and goodness of Nature's God. Cultivated by the 
resolute hands and enlightened minds of freemen, owners of the 
soil, properly educated, as farmers, under a wise and just adminis- 

16* 



370 AGRICULTURAL ADDRESS. 

tration of a system of liberal public instruction, such as should and 
will be, and aided by the researches of geology and chemistry, 
who can calculate the extent of the harvests to be gathered from 
this vast field of wisely directed human industry ? 

The present surplus of bread-stuffs of this country, could not have 
been presented in a more distinct and interesting aspect than during 
the present year. A famine in Europe, as wide-spread as it has 
been devastating and terrible, has made its demands upon American 
supplies, not simply to the extent of the ability of the suffering to 
purchase food, but in the superadded appeals to American sympa- 
thy in favor of the destitute and starving. Every call upon our 
markets has been fully met, and the heart of Europe has been filled 
with warm and grateful responses to the benevolence of our coun- 
try, and of our countrymen, and yet the avenues of commerce are 
filled with the productions of American agriculture. Surely the 
consumption of this country is not now equal to its agricultural 
production. 

If such is our surplus in the present limited extent and imperfect 
condition of our agriculture, can we hope that an exclusive domes- 
tic market is possible to furnish a demand for its mature abun- 
dance ? In this view of this great and growing interest can we see 
a limit to the period, when the United States v/ill present, in the 
commercial markets of the world, large surpluses of all the varie- 
ties of bread-stuffs, of beef, pork, butter, cheese, tobacco, and rice, 
beyond the consumption of our own country ? And who, with the 
experience of the last few years before him, can doubt that the 
time is now at hand, when the two great staples of wool and hemp 
will be added to the list of our exportations ? 

These considerations, and others of a kindred character, which 
time will not permit me to detail, seem to me, with unfeigned defer- 
ence, to prove that the agriculture of the United States, for an in- 
definite period yet to come, must continue to yield annual supplies 
of our principal staples, far beyond any possible demand of the do- 
mestic market, and must therefore remain, as it now is and has 
ever been, an exporting interest. As such, it must have a direct 
concern in the foreign trade and commerce of the country, and in 
all the regulations of our own and of foreign Governments which 
affect either, equal to its interest in a stable and adequate market. 

If this conclusion be sound, then our farmers must surrender tlie 
idea of a domestic market to furnish the demand, and measure the 



AGRICULTURAL ADDRESS. 371 

Value of their productions, and must prepare themselves to meet 
the competition of the commercial world in the markets of the com- 
mercial world, in the sale of the fruits of their labor. The marts 
of commerce must be their market, and the demand and supply 
which meet in those marts must govern their prices. The de- 
mand for home consumption, as an element in that market, must di- 
rectly and deeply interest them, and should be carefully cultivated 
and encouraged ; while all the other elements acting with it, and 
constituting together the demand of the market, should be studied 
with great care, and, so far as may be in their power, and consist- 
ent with other and paramoiint duties, should be cherished with 
equal care. 

Does any one believe, that for generations yet to come, the agri- 
cultural operations of the United States are to be circumscribed 
within narrower comparative limits than the present ; or that the 
agricultural productions of the country are to bear a less ratio to oui 
population and consumption than they now do ? I cannot suppose 
that any citizen, who has given his attention to the considerations 
which have been suggested, finds himself able to adopt either of 
these opinions. On the contrary, I think a fair examination must 
satisfy every mind that our agricultural surplus, for an indefinite 
future period, must increase much more rapidly than our population 
and the demand for domestic consumption. This I believe would 
be true without the efforts of associations, such as this, to improve 
our agriculture. The condition of the country, and the inclination 
and preference of our population for agricultural pursuits, would 
render this result unavoidable ; and if this be so, when the impetus 
given to agricultural productions by the improvements of the day . 
the individual and associated efforts constantly making to push for- 
ward these improvements with an accelerated movement ; the mass 
of educated mind turned to scientific researches in aid of agricul- 
tural labor ; the dawning of a systematic and universal agricultural 
education ; and the immense bodies of cheap, and fresh, and fertile 
lands, which invite the application of an improved agriculture, are 
added to the account, who can measure the extent or duration of 
our agricultural surplus, or doubt the soundness of the conclusion, 
that the export trade must exercise a great influence upon the mar- 
ket for the agricultural productions of tlie country for a long series 
of years to come ? 

Such is the conclusion to which my mind is forced, from an ex- 



372 AGRICULTURAL ADDRESS. 

amination of this subject, in its domestic aspect simply ; but there 
is another now presented of vast magnitude and engrossing inter- 
est, and demanding alike from the citizen and the statesman of this 
republic, the most careful consideration. All will at once under- 
stand me as referring to the changes and promises of change in 
the policy of the principal commercial nations of the world, touch- 
ing their trade in the productions of agriculture. By a single step, 
which was nothing less than commercial revolution. Great Britain 
practically made the change as to her trade ; and subsequent events 
have clothed with the appearance of almost superhuman sagacity, 
the wisdom which thus prepared that country to meet the visitation 
of famine, which has so soon followed, without the additional evil of 
trampling down the systems of law to minister to the all-controlling 
necessities of hunger. Changes similar in character, and measur- 
ably equal in extent, though in many cases temporary in duration, 
have been adopted by several other European Governments, under 
circumstances which render it very doubtful how soon, if ever, a re- 
turn will be made to the former policy of a close trade in the neces- 
saries of human life. 

New markets of vast extent and incalculable value, have thus 
been opened for our agricultural surplus, the durability and steadi- 
ness of which it is impossible yet to measure with certainty. It is 
in our power to say, however, that a great body of provocations to 
countervailing restrictive commercial regulations, is now removed, 
in some instances permanently, and in others temporarily in form ; 
and it would seem to be the part of wisdom, for the agriculture of 
this country, by furnishing these markets to the extent of the de- 
mand, with the best articles, at the fairest prices, to show to those 
countries, and their respective Governments, that reciprocal com- 
mercial regulations, if they oifer no other and higher attractions, 
present to their people a safeguard against starvation. 

Such is the connection, now, between our agriculture and the 
export trade and foreign market, and these relations are to be ex- 
tended and strengthened, rather than circumscribed and weakened, 
by our agricultural advances. The consumption of the country is 
far short of its production, and cannot become equal to it within 
any calculable period. On the contrary, the excess of production 
is to increase with the increase of population and settlement and the 
improvements in agriculture and agricultural education. These 
appear to me to be facts, arising from the condition of our country, 



AGRICULTURAL ADDRESS. 373 

and the tastes and inclinations of our people, fixed beyond the power 
of change, and to which theories and principles of political economy 
must be conformed, to be made practically applicable to us. 

The American farmer, then, while carefully studying, as he 
should not M\ to do, the necessities, the wants, and the tastes of all 
classes of consumers of his productions in this country, must not 
limit his researches for a market within those narrow bounds. He 
must extend his observations along the avenues of commerce, as 
far as the commerce of his country extends, or can be extended, 
and instruct himself as to the necessities and wants and tastes of 
the consumers of agricultural productions in other countries. He 
must observe attentively the course of trade, and the causes calcu- 
lated to exert a favorable or adverse influence upon it ; watch 
closely the commercial policy of other countries, and guard vigi- 
lantly that of his own ; accommodate his productions, as far as may 
be, to the probable demands upon the market, and understand how 
to prepare them for the particular market for which they are de- 
signed. Next to the production of the best article at the cheapest 
price, its presentation in market in the best order and most inviting 
condition, is important to secure to the farmer a ready and remune- 
rating market. 

So long as our agricultural shall continue to be an exporting 
interest, these considerations, as second only to the science of pro- 
duction itself, will demand the careful attention and study of our 
farmers, and in any well-digested system of agricultural education, 
its connection with manufactures and the mechanic arts, with com- 
merce, with the commercial policy of our own and other countries, 
and with the domestic and foreign markets, should hold a prominent 
place. A thorough and continued education in these collateral, but 
highly necessary branches of knowledge to the farmer, will prove 
extensively useful to the American citizen, beyond their application 
to the production and sale of the fruits of his labor. They will 
qualify him the more safely and intelligently to discharge the duties 
of a freeman : and, if called by his fellow-citizens to do so, the 
more beneficially to serve his state and country in legislative and 
other public trusts. 

I hope I may offer another opinion in this connection, without 
giving offence, or trespassing upon the proprieties of the place and 
occasion. It is, that this education in the just and true connection 
between the agricultural, the commercial, and the manufacturing 



374 AGRICULTURAL ADDRESS. 

interests of our country, equally and impartially disseminated 
among the classes of citizens attached to each of these great 
branches of labor, would effectually put an end to the jealousies 
too frequently excited ; demonstrating to every mind, so educated, 
that, so far from either being in any degree the natural antagonist 
of the other, they are all parts of one great and naturally harmoni- 
ous system of human industry, of which a fair encouragement to 
any part is a benefit to all ; and that all invidious and partial encour- 
agement to any part, at the expense of any other part, will prove 
to be an injury to all. The education proposed will do all that can 
be done to mark the true line between natural and healthful encour- 
agement to either interest, and an undue attempt to advance any 
one, at the expense of the united system, merely producing an un- 
natural and artificial relation and action, which cannot fail to work 
disease and injury. 

The labors of this society, and of kindred associations, have done 
much to inform the minds of our farmers in these collateral branches 
of knowledge useful to them, and much remains to be done. The 
science of production claims the first place, and is a wide field, as 
yet so imperfectly cultivated as to afford little time for collateral 
labors. To secure a stable and healthful market, and to learn how 
to retain and improve it, also opens an extensive field for the mental 
labors and energies of the farmer. Between these objects the rela- 
tion is intimate and the dependence mutual. The production makes 
the market, and the market sustains the production. The prospect 
of a market stimulates to activity in the field of production, and the 
fruits of that activity urge the mind to make the prospect real. 
Success in both contributes to the health and vigor and prosperity 
of agriculture, and of that prosperity commerce and manufactures 
cannot fail largely to partake. 

All are wiUing to promote the cause of agriculture in our state 
and country. Most are ready to lend an active co-operation, and 
all are cheerful to see accomplished any valuable improvement in 
this great branch of productive industry. The difficulty hitherto 
has been in adopting any general plan to effect this desirable object. 
Hence, most usually, when the public mind has been awakened to 
the subject, arbitrary, and in many cases visionary, experiments have 
been introduced, based upon no philosophical investigation of cause 
and effect, bnt upon some accidental trial, by a single individual, of 
fsome novel mode of culture, which, under the circumstances at- 



AGRICULTURAL ADDRESS. 375 

tending the experiment, has met with success. This single experi- 
ment, without an inquiry into, or a knowledge of the cause which, 
in the given case, has secured the successful results, is at once rec- 
ommended as an infallible rule of husbandry. The publication and 
dissemination of detached experiments of this character, for a long 
period constituted the most material additions to the stock of literary 
information connected with agriculture, supplied to our farmers ; 
while many of the experiments were too intricate and complicated 
to be reduced to practice with any certainty of accuracy, and others 
were so expensive that the most perfect success would not warrant 
the outlay. Unsuccessful attempts to follow the directions given 
for making these experiments, brought what came to be denominated 
" book-farming," into grea*t disrepute with the industrious, frugal, 
and successful farmers of the country, and excited a jealousy of, 
and a prejudice against this description of information upon agricul- 
tural subjects, which it has cost years of patient and unceasing 
effort in any measure to allay, and which are not yet removed. 

In the meantime geological research, heretofore principally con- 
fined to investigations into the mineral kingdom proper, has been 
extended to its legitimate office, and has brought within its examina- 
tions the formation of the various soils, and their minute constituent 
parts. Chemistry has commenced where geology closed, and by a 
careful analysis of these constituents of the various soils, of the 
principal agricultural products, and of the usual manures, is labor- 
ing to establish, upon philosophical principles, the true relations be- 
tween the soil and the manure to be applied, and between both and 
the crop to be planted and produced. It is seeking out, with rapid 
success, the appropriate food of the various vegetables cultivated by 
the farmer, the soils and manures in which the food for each is 
found, and the way in which it may be most successfully adminis- 
tered. So with the food of the domestic animals, and the most 
economical manner of feeding it. 

These investigations are the reverse of the former system of arbi- 
trary experiments. There a result was made to justify the arbi- 
trary means adopted to produce it. Here causes are ascertained, 
and, being so ascertained, are relied upon to produce their natural 
effect, which effect is the result sought. 

The importance of this great subject is effectually arousing the 
attention of the literary and scientific men of the country, and the 
success already experienced is drawing to these researches minds 



376 AGRICULTURAL ADDRESS. 

qualified for the labor, and energies equal to its rapid advancement. 
The progress made is bringing together the unsettled mind of the 
country, and producing the very general impression that the time 
has arrived when the foundations of a systematic, practical agricul- 
tural education should be laid, and the superstructure commenced. 

It is universally conceded that agriculture has shared but lightly 
in the fostering care and Government patronage which have been 
liberallv extended to commerce and manufactures, nor is it believed 
that additional public expenditure is necessary to enable the state to 
do all that can be reasonably required of it, to accomplish this great 
object. Our educational funds are rich, and the colleges, academies 
and common schools of the state share liberally in the distributions 
from them, while a Normal School for the education of teachers, in- 
stituted at the seat of Government, is also mainly supported from 
these funds. These institutions present the organization, through 
which, perhaps better than through any independent channel, this 
instruction can be universally disseminated among the agricultural 
population of the state. The annual additions to the school district 
libraries may be made v/ith reference to this branch of education, 
and Uius place within the reach of all the discoveries as they pro- 
gress, and the rules of husbandry deduced from them, as they shall 
be settled and given to the public from the pens of the competent 
professors engaged in pursuing the researches. 

This society, and like associations, may, through appropriate com- 
mittees, their corresponding secretaries, public-spirited commercial 
men, and otherwise, collect and iinbody in their transactions, facts 
and information respecting the markets, foreign and domestic ; the 
present and probable supply of agricultural products ; the mode and 
manner of presenting the principal productions in the various mar- 
kets in the most acceptable form ; the state and prospects of trade 
at home and abroad, and the changes present and prospective in the 
commercial policy of our own and other countries, with the proba- 
ble influences upon the agricultural markc*. The commercial and 
agricultural press will doubtless come powerfully to the aid of the 
associations, in all efforts of this character, and having these great 
objects in view. 

In this way the foundation may be gradually laid, and the mate- 
rials collected for the commencement of those agricultural studies, 
which time and application, with the constant evidence of their 



AGRICtTLTUEAL ADDRESS. 377 

utility in practice, would ripen into a system, to be ingrafted upon 
the course of regular studies pursued in the colleges, academies, 
and common schools, and made a branch of the studies of the male 
classes in the Normal School, placed under the superintendence of 
an instructor selected for that purpose, and qualified to prepare his 
classes for teaching the studies in the common schools of the state. 

Thus a generation of farmers would soon come forward, well 
educated in the great and essential principles of agricultural pro- 
duction; in the true relations existing between agriculture, com- 
merce and manufactures, and in the adaptation and preparation of 
their products for the agricultural markets. Such farmers, with 
the continued aid of the schools in which they were taught, would 
become the best manual-labor instructors for their successors. 

The passage of time reminds me that I am extending these re- 
marks beyond the proprieties of the occasion, and the patience of 
the audience. A single reflection shall close them. 

However confidently the opinion may be entertained, that other 
circumstances and relations might present a prospect for the agri- 
culture of our state and country, more stable, independent, and 
flattering, certain it is, that the future here opened is full of cheer- 
ing promise. We see in it the strongest possible security for our 
beloved country, through an indefinite period, against the scourge 
of famine. Our varied soil and climate and agriculture double this 
security, as the disease and failure of any one crop will not, as a 
necessary consequence, reduce any class of our population to an 
exposure to death from hunger. W e s^io also, in addition to feeding 
ourselves, that our surplus is almost, if not altogether, sufficient, if 
faithfully and prudently applied, even now to drive famine from the 
length and breadth of Europe. And that it is in our power, by 
faithful mental and physical application, soon to make it equal to 
the expulsion of hunger from the commercial world. We see that, 
dependent upon the commercial markets, our agriculture may bring 
upon our country a high degree of prosperity, and enable us, when 
extraordinary occasions shall call for its exercise, to practise a na- 
tional benevolence as grateful to the hearts of the humane as to the 
wants of the destitute. And we see that, by the wider diffiision 
and more secure establishment of a successful agriculture among 
our citizens, as a permanent employment, we are laying broader and 
deeper the foundations of our free institutions, the pride and glory 



378 AGRICULTURAL ADDRESS. *^ 

of our country, and prized by its freemen as their richest earthly 
blessing ; the history of all civil government, confirmed by the ex- 
perience of this republic furnishing demonstrative proof, that a 
well-educated, industrious, and independent yeomanry, are the safest 
repository of freedom and free institutions. 



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